Dana Rohrabacher: “I am encouraged by the conferees direction regarding NASA at this critical time. In the wake of the Columbia tragedy…”

“I am encouraged by the conferees direction regarding NASA at this critical time. In the wake of the Columbia tragedy, NASA's practice of over-promising, over-marketing, and under-estimating the costs for its programs cannot be tolerated any longer. I applaud Chairman Walsh for his commitment in getting NASA to rethink its priorities relating to human space flight. We must now ensure that the return to flight of the Space Shuttle is not a return to business as usual. I support the Science Committee Chairman's position that we cannot perpetuate the Space Shuttle and Space Station indefinitely, and that any new program has to come with an affordable price tag. I do believe, however, that we need a bold vision for NASA. I think we should return to the Moon, but this time to stay. When the notion of an Orbital Space Plane was introduced, I welcomed it as a significant sea change in NASA's approach to space transportation development. One year later, however, NASA is still struggling with what it has touted as a simple design. According to NASA, OSP doesn't replace the Shuttle, and it's not clear how OSP night support any future mission. At an estimated cost of $18 billion over the next decade, NASA should not go forward until there is consensus between the Administration and the Hill concerning the direction of the U.S. space program. For too long, we endured costly development programs that failed to deliver results.”