Since the Columbia broke up on re-entry from space February 1, the US space shuttle fleet has been grounded, and construction on the space station -- which has been manned by a skeletal staff of just two astronauts since the mishap -- has been put on hold.

"There are many constraints within this bill and we must consider all the current usage of the funds, versus a program that is in some respects on hold," said Republican Senator Kit Bond, chairman of the subcommittee that oversees the budget for the US space agency.

The 15.3 billion dollar Senate bill passed by the committee is nearly 200 million dollars less than what NASA -- the National Aeronautics and Space Administration -- requested in February. That budget request was made before the Columbia accident.

"We will gladly reconsider this action as NASA and the administration present a plan that will restore the construction" of the space station, Bond said.

The House version of the budget, which passed in late July, is for 15.5 billion dollars.

Both the House and Senate bills have left the budget for the space shuttle program intact, at 3.9 billion dollars.

SPACE.WIRE