This article in Aviation Week provides a good summary of an issue that is raising eyebrows across the political and industrial landscape of the aerospace world. Its message: the 2010 retirement of the Space Shuttle could cost the aerospace industry up to 9,000 jobs. 6,400 of these lost jobs would be in the politically-crucial state of Florida.
When President Bush accounced in 2004 that the Shuttle would be retired, everyone knew that job cuts were inevitable. However, it was hoped that an efficient transfer from Shuttle operations to the missions of the new Orion spacecraft would limit job losses and preserve the aerospace industry's talent for the coming manned missions to the Moon.
Congress can effectively deal with this problem by increasing the funding for the development of Orion and the Ares rockets, thus shortening the gap between the final flight of the Shuttle and the first manned mission of Orion. In addition, increasing support for the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS), which provide funding to private aerospace companies for the development of spacecraft for routine orbital missions, could also alleviate job losses while substantially enhancing America's space capabilities.
