Saturday, The Orlando Sentinel announced that, according to an internal e-mail, NASA Administrator Michael Griffin ordered his staff to look into whether it was possible for the U.S. space shuttle to fly beyond 2010, when its retirement is scheduled.

Griffin has previously been opposed to the shuttle being used after 2010, fearing that this could put astronauts at risk and pose a threat to NASA’s Constellation program, a system consisting of new rockets and capsules meant to replace the shuttle program.

Keeping the space shuttle flying beyond its retirement date would entail NASA getting more money from Congress, as it is estimated that the cost for each year past 2010 amounts to $4 billion.

Nevertheless, both John McCain and Barack Obama -  the presidential candidates for the Republican Party and the Democratic Party, respectively - have asked NASA to delay  the shuttle’s retirement for at least a year (John McCain) and called for $2 billion in order to extend the period past 2010 (Barack Obama).

Michael Griffin, in addressing the Congress in November, stated that continuing to fly the shuttle did not enhance human spaceflight capability, but it would be a way to delay the time until a new capability existed. Moreover, it would increase the total life cycle cost to bring the new capability on line, he added.

Wayne Hale, the former space shuttle program manager, suggested on his blog that it might be too late to put off the U.S. space shuttle’s retirement. John Shannon replaced Wayne Hale in February this year.

John Yembrick, NASA’s spokesperon, also stated that the current plan is to retire the shuttle in 2010, as scheduled.

In July, NASA revealed the dates it fixed for the last flights of the current shuttle fleet. The last flight was scheduled for 31 May, 2010, four months before the retirement of the whole fleet.

NASA announced that it set the dates of all the space shuttle launches through 2009 and 2010. The space agency has 10 missions remaining for the current fleet, which President George W. Bush ordered to retire by September 30, 2010. The schedule of the last flights will include five flights this year, five in 2009 and three in 2010.

During these last flights, the space shuttles will carry vital spare parts for the International Space Station (ISS) including communications equipment and shielding panels.