BREVARD COUNTY -- NASA administrator Michael Griffin told senators Wednesday the end of the shuttle program could cost the Kennedy Space Center thousands of jobs.
The shuttle is expected to retire in the next few years, and there will be a small gap as NASA transitions to the next generation of spacecraft.
Griffin said that means a loss all over NASA, not only because the space agency will not be actively launching manned missions, but also because the newer vehicles require a different skills set.
It means a loss in thousands of jobs for contracted workers.
“That will not go back up at least in terms of launch processing because of the fact that our new systems will require and should require fewer people to operate the shuttle which is an expensive system,” said Griffin.
He said NASA will do everything possible to soften the blow.
Griffin said NASA will release a series of congressional reports on workforce impact from the shuttle's retirement every six months beginning at the end of March.
Click here to comment on this story.