Could NASA fly the shuttle past 2010 if the agency had the money?
It would not be cost-effective to do that and would delay the availability of the shuttle’s replacement vehicle for crew transportation, Orion. The space shuttle flight hardware production rate is being managed to robustly support the manifest through program retirement in 2010. Through its transition mechanisms, the agency has and continues to make decisions to release production capabilities that are no longer required to support safe mission execution. The space shuttle program is at an inflection point where restarting capabilities to continue flying past 2010 would be both prohibitively expensive and contrary to the policy direction provided by the NASA Authorization Act of 2005. NASA is blessed with some of the most highly skilled, highly motivated employees who are fundamentally committed to maintaining global U.S. leadership in human spaceflight. Open, honest communications and, where possible, a defined path forward are the most effective tools for retaining such a unique cadr
