NASA shake-up could ripple through space station

By Richard Stenger
CNN.com Writer

(CNN) -- The ouster of the man directing NASA's manned spaceflight could spell trouble for the increasingly expensive international space station.

George Abbey, 68, had worked for decades at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. He took part in the Apollo 13 mission, oversaw space shuttle flights and ran Mission Control for the last five years.

But NASA administrator Daniel Goldin announced Friday that Abbey, the prime manager of the U.S. role in space station Alpha, would be relieved of his duties in Houston. Abbey was reassigned as a "senior assistant" in NASA's headquarters in Washington.

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"It is clearly related to the escalating cost of the international space station. (Dan) Goldin has been very critical of Johnson Space Center during the past weeks, particularly over the cost overruns (of the space station)," said former NASA employee Keith Cowing on Monday.

An international consortium -- including Russia, Europe, Canada and Japan -- is working on space station Alpha. But the United States is the primary financier and builder of the orbiting outpost.

Worried about cost overruns, Congress imposed a $25 billion cap on the U.S. contribution to develop the station. NASA might have overshot the mark.

"NASA is now grappling with the total cost of completing and running the space station. This is the daunting reality facing them," said Cowing, the editor of NASA Watch, an independent online service that monitors the space agency.

Goldin promised the development cost would be $17.4 billion, but the figure is approaching $30 billion, he said. The main station contractor, Boeing, originally estimated the cost at $5.6 billion.

Overall, the cost of constructing and running the station for five or ten years could top $100 billion, with most of the money coming from the United States.

"The space station's inability to constrain itself is starting to consume all the agency's resources," Cowing said. "NASA has an elephant stuck in a two-car garage and it's growing."

That daunting figure should make NASA drastically scale back the number of scientists and experiments that it flies to the orbiting outpost. Even then, NASA's funding levels in recent years will not be able to cover the overruns, Cowing predicted.

"As (President Bush) has indicated, there needs to be reform in human spaceflight. During this time of transition, it is also a time for a change of leadership at the Johnson Space Center," said NASA's Goldin, in a statement. A NASA spokesperson could not be reached for further comment.

Crucial details about the future of NASA's space station funding could be revealed after President Bush presents his proposed budget to Congress Tuesday night.

Alpha crew takes spin around space station
February 23, 2001
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February 6, 2001

NASA

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