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Budget cuts threaten future of space science recruiting

WASHINGTON — Ongoing cuts into NASA-oriented science programs could wipe out the next generation of rocket scientists, a former researcher for the agency warned lawmakers Thursday.

NASA’s continuing budget crunch has curtailed research programs once conducted by college professors and their graduate student assistants, said Paul Neitzel, a fluid mechanics professor at Georgia Institute of Technology.

Shutting out the academic community “guarantees that future workers it will require will neither be motivated to work on NASA related problems, nor even be knowledgeable of them,” Neitzel told the House Science and Technology Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics.

The testimony came during a hearing that addressed the upcoming retirement of the space shuttle program, progress on NASA plans for the International Space Station and the ongoing labor strike at Kennedy Space Center.

William Gerstenmaier, NASA’s associate administrator for space operations, gave lawmakers an update on work to the space station and a report on a review about to begin on the upcoming shuttle mission.

Overall, he told them, work was “moving forward.”

Still, other panel witnesses raised concern over pressure NASA faces to complete its goal of 16 missions before the shuttle retires in 2010. Only one of those missions has been completed. The next is scheduled for Aug. 7.

“NASA will need to launch one shuttle every 2.7 months — an aggressive schedule when compared to recent launch timeframes,” said Cristina Chaplain of the Government Accountability Office, the watchdog arm of Congress.

The agency averaged 10.8 months between launches since the Columbia accident in 2003, Chaplain said. NASA’s manifest is attainable but leaves little room for unexpected delays from weather or other setbacks, she said.

Rep. Mark Udall, the Colorado Democrat who chaired the panel, said NASA must make space station research a priority.

“The nation has invested substantial funds over many years to develop and build the International Space Station,” Udall said. “We need to ensure that the nation gets an adequate return on that investment.”

The Bush administration requested $2.24 billion for next year’s space station budget. Rep. Tom Feeney, the committee’s top Republican, raised concern about an $18 million reduction in that request. He suggested that one way to protect the interests of the agency would be to protect it against undue burdens.

“Demands on NASA must be tempered,” said Feeney, whose Florida district includes north Brevard County. “This administration and Congress must deliver the resources needed to complete what has been assigned.”

Neitzel said funding cuts may not only eliminate incentives for future scientists but also could jeopardize the nation’s lead in the international space race.

“We are squandering this valuable resource. We are potentially relinquishing our leadership in space research to other nations. And we are dimming the spark of discovery that motivated many of the current generation of such researchers, including yours truly,” he said.

Check out written testimony on the Web.