NASA to Accelerate Plans for Shuttle's Replacement

Published: Apr 22, 2005
Source: www.space.com



NASA will accelerate development efforts for a new manned spacecraft that will follow the retirement of the agency's shuttle fleet, a top spaceflight official told U.S. Senate subcommittee today.

NASA’s three remaining space shuttles are slated for retirement by 2010 following the completion of the International Space Station (ISS). A new spacecraft – the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) – has been tapped as its replacement, but is not expected to fly its first human-carrying mission until at least 2014.

“Eliminating that gap between [shuttle retirement] and a new vehicle, and making sure it has the ability to dock with the ISS, is imperative,” said William Readdy, NASA’s associate administrator for human spaceflight, during a hearing before the Senate’s science and space subcommittee on the state of ISS research. "We're going to accelerate the crew exploration vehicle."continue..