NASA Told to Develop 'Plan B' - No?

NASA chief Charles Bolden has denied asking senior managers to draw up an alternate plan [Plan B] for the space agency after members of Congress indicated they wanted to reject a White House proposal to hire private companies to ferry U.S. astronauts into orbit and beyond, reports The Wall Street Journal.

In an internal National Aeronautics and Space Administration memo viewed by The Wall Street Journal, Mr. Bolden ordered officials to map out "what a potential compromise might look like" to satisfy critics on Capitol Hill. By calling for an alternative plan, Mr. Bolden threatened to undercut White House efforts to get its proposed NASA budget through Congress.

Meanwhile, Texas US Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison has offered Congressional legislation to continue the space shuttle flights to 2015 and saving major elements of the NASA Constellation program.