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Air Force News Service

02/12/03

DOD's top space official committed to space discovery
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By Master Sgt. Scott Elliott, Air Force Print News

WASHINGTON -- Just days after Space Shuttle Columbia broke apart in 
the skies over Texas, the Department of Defense's executive agent for 
space said the nation's program would go on.

"I think we're all (still) reeling and will be for some time," said 
Peter B. Teets, undersecretary of the Air Force and the chief of the 
National Reconnaissance Office. 

According to Teets, the Columbia disaster will force people to alter 
the way they think about the space program. 

"I think everyone recognizes that, essentially, it's a controlled 
explosion that creates the energy to get you into orbit ... but 
they've forgotten just what a significant event re-entry into the 
Earth's atmosphere really is," he said.

"There's a huge amount of energy that has to be taken out of the 
vehicle as it re-enters the atmosphere -- it's taken out by 
transferring energy to heat," he said. 

Once the root cause of the accident is determined, Teets said, the 
nation's space agency leaders have to reassess how they operate in 
space. 

Among the considerations, the nation's space leaders will have to face 
is how to resupply the international space station, and where the 
manned space program goes from here. 

"I'm one who believes it's important for us to have fully reusable 
launch systems that will be the for-sure way we provide assured access 
to space," he said. "Perhaps, by working together, we can leverage the 
same kinds of technology that will allow us to get more operationally
responsive systems." 

According to the undersecretary, shared technologies, such as a common 
propulsion system and lightweight structure, could lead to the next 
generation of manned spacecraft, the space plane.

"The bottom line is that we need to redouble our efforts to make sure 
we have a vigorous and successful national security space program."

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