By Paul Rincon
Science reporter, BBC News
Could this sight continue for several years to come? Nasa will study whether the space shuttle can operate beyond its planned retirement in 2010, reports say. The agency will look at what might be required to delay the retirement of its fleet until the shuttle's replacement - Ares-Orion - begins flying in 2015. The exercise is aimed at answering questions it expects on the matter from Congress and the incoming president. News of the study comes from a leaked internal email obtained by a Florida-based newspaper. Nasa chief Michael Griffin, who is reported to have ordered the study, had previously opposed extending the shuttle programme. The agency's administrator argued that the money and effort required to do so would stymie progress on the Ares rockets and the Apollo-style Orion capsules that will succeed the shuttle. These are being developed by Nasa as part of its "Constellation" programme. The system is expected to carry astronauts to the Moon under the Vision for Space Exploration plans announced by President George W Bush in 2004. Russian flights In April, Dr Griffin told a Senate sub-committee: "The shuttle is an inherently risky design. We currently assess the per-mission risk as about one in 75 of having a fatal accident. "If one were to do, as some have suggested, fly the shuttle for an additional five years - say two missions a year - the risk would be about one in 12 that we would lose another crew." But an e-mail obtained by the Orlando Sentinel suggests Nasa will now research this option. In it, John Coggeshall, manifest and schedules manager at Nasa's Johnson Space Center in Houston, writes: "The [shuttle] programme in conjunction with [Constellation] and [space station] have been asked by the administrator to put together some manifest options to assess extending shuttle flights to 2015. He added: "We want to focus on helping bridge the gap of US vehicles travelling to the [space station] as efficiently as possible." But Nasa spokesman John Yembrick described the e-mail as "premature". "The parameters of the study have not yet been defined," he said. The agency remains committed to retiring the shuttle in 2010. Five-year gap In the five-year gap between the retirement of the shuttle and the first flights of the Orion capsule, Nasa will be reliant on Russia's Soyuz system for transporting astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS). But some are now concerned about the wisdom of this plan to purchase seats aboard the Soyuz, given the diplomatic tension between the US and Russia over the conflict in Georgia. Nasa's Orion ship will not be ready until 2015 Last week, Republican presidential candidate John McCain, and other senators, sent a letter urging President Bush to "direct Nasa to take no action for at least one year from now that would preclude the extended use of the space shuttle beyond 2010". This letter said Russia's conduct during the Georgia conflict "raised concerns about the reliability of Russia as a partner for the International Space Station". It added: "Our concern is that we do not have a guarantee that such co-operative and mutually beneficial activity will continue to be available, and the successful utilisation of the ISS may thus be jeopardized." The Democrats' presidential candidate Barack Obama has also talked about the possibility of additional shuttle flights to close the five-year gap. Nasa currently has an agreement with Russia to fly astronauts to the ISS aboard the Soyuz spacecraft until 2011. After that, the agency would have to seek approval from Congress for an extension. Nasa has previously said it would cost between $2.5bn and $4bn per year to keep the shuttles flying past 2010. The agency has also given seed money to a commercial venture to develop a spacecraft for transporting crew and cargo to the space station. Paul.Rincon-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk
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Space shuttle Discovery launching in October 2007 for mission STS-120.
Michael Griffin, administrator of the American space agency, NASA has ordered a study into considering the possibility of continuing the usage of the Space Shuttle, a space vehicle that takes astronauts  to the International Space Station. The agency originally planned to retire all shuttles in 2010 after mission STS-134, but concerns over staff job losses that were created by the Space Shuttle program caused Griffin to order the study. The space crafts have been in use since 1981 and it's replacements, the Ares rockets, will not be in use until 2015 causing a 5 year gap where NASA will have no manned space flights, which is the reason the agency is considering extending usage for five more years, when the vehicles can be immediately replaced by their successors.


The news came from a leaked email which was obtained from the Los Angeles Times. NASA officials have confirmed the email's authenticity, but have stated that it is too early to decide whether or not the shuttle use will continue.

Griffin has originally been against the continuation of the shuttle, as it would damage the funding of Project Constellation, a project that involves sending astronauts to the Moon and Mars.

If NASA chooses not to continue the space shuttle, they would rely on the Russian Federal Space Agency and their Soyuz space vehicles in the five year gap of no American space flights. To do this, they would have to purchase seats on Soyuz missions. However, because of the recent events that have transpired over the Georgia conflict, US and Russian relations have been damaged, so it is believed unwise to work with the Russian agency.