ship shuttle fleet has been grounded since the Feb. 1, 2003, break-up of Columbia that killed seven astronauts. When shuttles return to flight, possibly in May or June 2005, O'Keefe has said they should be dedicated to finishing construction on the International Space Station. O'Keefe, who formerly worked at the federal Office of Management and Budget, came to NASA with the specific mission of getting the agency's budget under control. Three years on, he said NASA's finances are "on the road to recovery." He has also pointed to the full $16.2 billion funding for NASA in 2005 as an endorsement of President George W. Bush's ambitious plan to send humans back to the moon and eventually to Mars. --SP 2304 Local Time 2004 GMT
