Still, Over 3,000 Employees Will Need To Find Work After 2010

It's hardly good news for Florida's famed "Space Coast," but it could also be a lot worse. NASA said Monday between 3,000 and 4,000 jobs will be eliminated at Kennedy Space Center once the space shuttle fleet is retired in late 2010.

The space agency is sticking to earlier estimates that 7,000 shuttle jobs will be eliminated at KSC come 2010, reports The Associated Press. But NASA Administrator Michael Griffin told a Senate panel Monday roughly 3,000 positions will open in the Constellation manned space program now under development... taking some of the economic sting off the forecasted losses.

"I can't say it's good news, but it's certainly news that's a step in the right direction," said Florida Senator Bill Nelson, chairman of the space subcommittee and organizer of the two-hour "Link To Launch" public forum.

Organizers say about 1,000 people attended an outdoor rally prior to the hearing, to show their support for NASA and a continued US presence in space. Dozens of those people then packed the hearing.

Nelson -- who himself flew on Columbia in 1986 -- asked Griffin if the upcoming presidential election didn't give NASA an opportunity to broaden its reach a bit. Griffin replied he's under orders from the current administration to ground the shuttle fleet in 2010, once the International Space Station is complete, then shift NASA's resources solely to returning to the moon.

As ANN has reported, that plan has been soundly criticized by many lawmakers and others, for leaving the United States with no definitive presence in space for the five years NASA expects it will take to start manned flights with its Orion space capsule.

Unless a reliable private alternative comes about, that will leave the United States to the mercy of the Russian space program to ferry astronauts to and from the station... hardly an attractive prospect. But closer to home, Florida lawmakers are concerned about the economic impact that five-year gap will pose to their districts.

"The last thing we need to do is to lose this tremendous work force, to put people out of work, give them a pink slip, while at the same time we're generating jobs in Russia to accomplish the same mission," said Senator Mel Martinez. "It's shortsighted. It makes no sense. We need to reverse it."

Griffin replied he finds it "unseemly in the extreme" NASA will need to rely on Russia. "However, I can't find a way to avoid it," he added.

FMI: www.nasa.gov, www.linktolaunch.org