For nearly the 100th time since July 24, 2008, multi-platformed journalist Mark Williams made an appearance Monday night on the Nancy Grace Show on CNN Headline News.Kosmas & Posey Introduce Legislation Designed to Minimize Space Flight Gap
Congresswoman Suzanne Kosmas of New Smyrna Beach and Congressman Bill Posey of Brevard County have introduced legislation to maintain a robust human spaceflight program, minimize the spaceflight gap, and protect Space Coast jobs.
The Human Spaceflight Capability Assurance and Protection Act would extend use of the International Space Station (ISS) through 2020, allow NASA to continue flying the Space Shuttle, and push to accelerate a next-generation NASA-developed space vehicle.
A companion bill has been introduced by Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) in the U.S. Senate.
Rep Kosmas says the bill is intended to maintain a human spaceflight program that will protect thousands of space coast jobs….
The bill is designed to extend the life of the ISS while allowing the Shuttle to continue flying in order to provide whatever support is needed for that extension.
In addition to Kosmas and Posey, original co-sponsors of the bill include Representatives Corrine Brown (D-FL), Kathy Castor (D-FL), Jim Costa (D-CA), Alan Grayson (D-FL), Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX), Ron Klein (D-FL), Stephen LaTourette (R-OH), Charlie Melancon (D-LA), John Mica (R-FL), Chellie Pingree (D-ME), Adam Putnam (R-FL), and Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-FL).
The Human Space Flight Capability Assurance and Enhancement Act of 2009 would:
** Allow for Shuttle extension to fully service and support ISS: Make shuttle retirement dependent on the availability of replacement capabilities for comparable size crew and cargo delivery, whether government-owned or commercial, or until it is conclusively demonstrated that the Space Shuttle cargo capabilities are not needed to ensure space station viability;
** Maximize investment in ISS: Require International Space Station (ISS) operations and full utilization through at least 2020, and further establish the ISS National Laboratory operating mechanisms and procedures. Instructs NASA to report to Congress on what resources and equipment are needed for ISS extension;
** Develop New NASA-Led Vehicle: Provide for the acceleration of a government-owned human space flight capability to as close to 2015 as possible; Provide for the near-term evaluation of heavy-lift rocket vehicle design options, including Shuttle-derived and Constellation-derived options, to enable exploration beyond low-earth orbit and accelerate the start of vehicle design activity;
Meantime, President Obama will visit the Space Coast next month to deliver a speech to a conference on space exploration.
In that speech he is expected to outline the next mission for NASA.
