STATEMENT ON THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION BUDGET

The National Space Society notes with great regret that the corrective actions taken by NASA in order to stay within the International Space Station spending caps will severely limit crew size and operational
capability, as well as scientific benefits aboard the station. The Society urges:

-That ISS be augmented with the capability for a full crew of 6 or 7 astronauts, on the earliest time scale practicable within reasonable budget constraints.

-That an 'ISS Applications Program' should be implemented as soon as possible to begin steps towards the objective of expanding human presence beyond Earth orbit, and to take full advantage of our investment in ISS.

-That NASA develop and publish, this year, a plan for such ISS applications, such plan to include consideration of the components that were recently deleted from the ISS assembly sequence.

-That A Non-Governmental Organization be created to support management of the space station and to develop commercial applications of the station.

-That the Bush administration amend the national space policy of the U.S. to restore the objective 'to expand human presence and activities beyond Earth orbit into the Solar System'.

The National Space Society is a pro-space advocacy organization whose 23,000 members worldwide are working to create a spacefaring civilization. To learn more about NSS and its programs, call 202-543-1900 or go to www.nss.org