Washington, DC Dec. 18, 1997 – Nominal supporters of the NASA International Space Station are sounding the alarm as reports begin filtering out of NASA headquarters before the Christmas-to-New Year's hiatus of deepening budget woes with the project.
Sources in Washington told SpaceCast that the cost overrun for the Boeing Habitation module, pegged this fall at $806 million, may have soared past the $1 billion mark. If true, NASA Administrator Daniel S. Goldin may be facing rough sledding in the U.S. Senate when Congress returns in mid-January. Why? The budget woes facing the station are prompting supporters to threaten a revolt against the project.
In a Dec. 9th letter to Goldin, Sens. John McCain (R-Az) and Bill Frist
(R-Tenn.), both supporters of the station, warned Goldin that the cost
overruns now threaten the political viability of the space program. McCain
and Frist also told Goldin that a Senate hearing early in the new term will
attempt to define exactly how deep into the red the program may go – and
what the space agency must sacrifice to absorb the cost.
They will also attempt to get a new delivery date for the launch of the Russian Service Module, now believed to be two to three months beyond the planned December 1998 launch date. The shift, caused again by Russian assembly delays, may threaten the entire assembly sequence of the station, now set to begin in June of next year.
As if these troubles aren't enough, the NASA budget as approved by the
Clinton administration for Fiscal year 1999 will carry more deep cuts to
the aeronautical program, space science, and other research. Goldin may
face another Hobson's choice in selecting which projects to slash – and
which to save – as the agency's budget heads toward a 40% overall reduction
since its 1992 levels. Happy New Year, Dan.
