NASA moves ahead on space station orbiter

WASHINGTON -- As investigators search for the cause of the Columbia disaster, NASA is moving ahead with plans to develop a new craft that would replace shuttles on space station missions by 2012 and respond quickly to space station emergencies.

The space agency released the first set of mission needs and requirements Wednesday for the orbital space plane, which would be designed to transport a crew of four to and from the International Space Station.

Although it includes few specifics, the plan stipulates the orbiter will be safer, cheaper and require less preparation time than the shuttle. It would be able to transport four crew members by 2012 -- though it would be available for rescue missions by 2010. NASA says the craft should be able to transport injured or ill space station crew members to "definitive medical care" within 24 hours.

The release of the requirements showed NASA remains focused on the long-term priorities of space exploration, even as questions linger concerning the loss of Columbia and its seven-member crew on Feb. 1.

Experts at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., have been working for years on a successor to the shuttle. The project, known as the Space Launch Initiative, was divided last year into two parts -- one focusing on a future launch vehicle, the other on a space station orbiter. The orbiter is expected to be ready sooner.

The program's managers say NASA officials have told them not to alter Space Launch Initiative in light of the Columbia disaster.

"Obviously when the Columbia tragedy happened, it makes complete sense for us to go back and look at, is there anything we didn't think of, anything we could do faster?" Dennis Smith, manager of the orbital space plane program, said earlier this month. "But, I'll tell you, we were looking at that anyway. Our NASA leaders have been very clear to us we need to keep moving."

President Bush asked Congress for about $1 billion for Space Launch Initiative in 2004, funds that would be almost equally split between the Orbital Space Plane and Next Generation Launch Technology.

However, that money was requested before the Feb. 1 Columbia disaster, and some lawmakers -- particularly those from Alabama -- are concerned Congress might try to cut funds for future NASA programs to funnel more money into the shuttle. Alabama Sens. Richard Shelby and Jeff Sessions say the program needs a funding boost.

"We're going to need more money," said Shelby, a member of the Appropriations Committee that oversees federal spending. "I've always said NASA was drastically underfunded considering the promise and all the good things that could come out of it. Many people realize we cannot compromise safety in any way, and I don't think we can compromise the future."

NASA is expected to release more detailed requirements of the new system later this year.