With NASA facing questions from the incoming administration of U.S. Presidentelect Barack Obama about possibly canceling development of the Ares 1 crew launch vehicle, one influential U.S. lawmaker is stressing the importance of keeping this key component of the space shuttle replacement system on track.rn"Without the Ares 1 and the heavy-lift capability of the Ares 5 rockets, humans will not be able to explore space any further than we can today," Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) said in a Dec. 1 statement. "The ability of NASA to achieve our goals for future space exploration has always been and always will be through Marshall Space Flight Center."rnAs the ranking Republican on the Senate Appropriations commerce, justice and science subcommittee, Shelby holds considerable sway over NASA's annual budget and doggedly defends programs important to Marshall, the Huntsville, Ala., NASA field center in charge of Ares development. Ares 1 will be used to loft NASA's planned Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle startingrnaround 2015.
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