Key Member of Congress Draws the Line on the Space Station

Key Member of Congress Draws the Line on the Space Station Last Wednesday’s (April 9) hearing of the House Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics was billed as an opportunity (according to the subcommittee) “to familiarize Members with the issues surrounding space stations and to update the Subcommittee on the status of U.S. programs.” This multi-hour hearing received testimony from those supporting and opposing the International Space Station. But the important story of the day occurred in the first few minutes, when full House Science Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) delivered a forceful opening statement that began with “I told you so.”

Sensenbrenner was reacting to a NASA announcement that the scheduled on-orbit assembly of the station has slipped from November 1997 to (no later than) October 1998. In addition, NASA projected, “Inadequate funding by the Russian government to the Russian Space Agency and its contractors for building another key station element - the Service Module - has put construction up to eight months behind schedule.”

In his statement, Sensenbrenner declared, “I have spent the last four years hoping that I would not have to utter the words, `I told you so.’ But, I think that day has finally come. I raised fears to NASA and the White House that the Russians would be unable to meet their commitments due to their domestic political and economic turmoil. I warned the Administration that bringing the Russians into the program would force NASA to rob Peter to pay Paul when Russian caused delays and cost increases in the International Space Station program.... We all know the history of Russia’s role in the International Space Station since then. Empty promise after empty promise. Broken pledge after broken pledge. Delay after delay.” Sensenbrenner outlined eight times in which he said Russia had not keep his commitments, and warned, “I have been saying for months that there is a limit to my patience.” He was particularly critical of a new plan by NASA to transfer $200 million in space shuttle funds to the station.

Putting his marker down, Sensenbrenner concluded, “So let me offer a new warning. This program will be further delayed and cost even more if NASA and the White House do not do now, what should have been done three years ago -- which is to remove the Russian government from the critical path. Because I support the International Space Station and the benefits it will bring to humanity, I am prepared to work with the Administration to permanently resolve these issues. And, I can imagine a Space Station that leaves open the possibility of Russian participation. We are making up NASA’s authorization next week [April 16.] We have about that long to resolve this issue and save the International Space Station.”

In NASA’s announcement several mitigation options were outlined. Wilbur Trafton, NASA Associate Administrator, Space Flight, said a decision would be made in May about how the agency would proceed. In answer to a series of questions by subcommittee chairman Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), Trafton said that delays have cost “in the hundreds of millions of dollars,” could potentially be significantly more, and predicted that Russia will be unable to keep its commitment for the service module without more money. Rohrabacher was unflattering in his characterization of the Russian government, and declared that U.S. taxpayers would not continue to pay for its mistakes.

The full House Science Committee meets this Wednesday (April 16) to mark up H.R. 1275, the Civilian Space Authorization Act. The present version of this bill calls for NASA to provide within 90 days a “report on international hardware agreements.” Whether Chairman Sensenbrenner amends this bill to implement his thinking - and his threat - has yet to be seen.