Griffin Now Favors Saving Space Shuttle [Houston Chronicle]

As NASA administrator under President George W. Bush, Mike Griffin wanted to wind down the space shuttle program as quickly as possible so that money could be spent on building a new system to send astronauts into orbit. But with no replacement in sight, he now believes the shuttle should continue flying, reports the Houston Chronicle’s SciGuy blog.

In an email circulating among NASA employees, Griffin writes, “In a world of limited budgets, I was willing to retire the shuttle as the price of getting a follow-on system that could allow us to establish a manned lunar base. Not that my opinion matters, but I see no sense in retiring the shuttle in favor of nothing. That is beyond foolish.”