Congresswoman Suzanne Kosmas (FL-24) has met with the crew of STS-119 and congratulated them for their successful mission last month aboard Space Shuttle Discovery. The crew launched March 15th on a 13-day mission to deliver the International Space Station's fourth and final set of solar array wings.
Congresswoman Kosmas thanked the crew for their service and discussed with them the importance of alleviating schedule pressure by removing the hard deadline for Shuttle retirement.
Kosmas and Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) were recently successful in their efforts to include in the budget resolution an additional $2.5 billion in FY 2011 for the Shuttle program, giving NASA the flexibility to fly the Shuttle beyond 2010 if necessary.
The resolution passed the House on Wednesday and is expected to pass the Senate this week. The Administration is expected to release their final budget details by May 6th.
"This week, Congress made it clear that we believe NASA should have the flexibility to fly the scheduled Shuttle missions into 2011 if necessary," said Congresswoman Kosmas.
"The brave men and women of our Shuttle program put their lives on the line to cement America's position as a leader in space, science and technology. We must always put their safety first, and removing the hard deadline for Shuttle retirement will eliminate dangerous schedule pressure while helping to preserve the highly-skilled workforce at Kennedy Space Center."
"I hope that the administration will follow our lead and include the same flexibility for the Shuttle program in their final budget," added Kosmas.
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