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Air Force warns of increased launch costs

The Air Force and National Reconnaissance Office could face major increases in the cost of launching satellites as a result of the Obama administration’s decision to cancel NASA’s shuttle replacement program, a top Air Force official said.

Gary Payton, deputy undersecretary of the Air Force for space programs, told members of Congress on Wednesday that the Obama administration had not asked the Air Force to examine the effects of canceling NASA’s Constellation program before the Feb. 1 announcement.

The military and intelligence community rely on the same manufacturers as NASA to build the rockets that launch their satellites, but the White House plans to turn to commercially owned rockets to launch astronauts following retirement of the shuttle later this year.

Early information shows the price of rocket propulsion systems for the military and NRO “might double” as a result, Payton said.

Lawmakers, including Sen. David Vitter, R-La., are fighting back.

Constituents in Vitter’s home state were counting on the Constellation program to bring new jobs to NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility, where NASA and Lockheed Martin build components of the space shuttle.

At the Senate Armed Service Committee hearing Wednesday, Vitter asked Payton: “Was the Air Force explicitly asked the impact on you of canceling Constellation before the decision was made?”

“No sir,” Payton said. Six studies are now underway together with NASA and NRO to examine price questions, workforce issues and reliability concerns, he said.

The Constellation decision could not have come as a complete surprise to the Air Force. Gen. Robert C. Kehler, commander of Air Force Space Command, said the service had submitted two columns of information — one for possible “opportunities” and one with possible “challenges” — at the request of a panel assembled by the White House last year to examine options for the NASA’s post-shuttle future.

“We don’t have answers yet. What we do have is a potential concern,” Kehler said during the hearing.

Kehler said some aspects of NASA’s plan, such as research and development on a new engine, and improvements to the “launch infrastructure” in Florida could be good for the Air Force.