The Space Coast is bracing for the worst and looking for help before the space shuttle program retires.
In just three years, NASA plans to shut down its manned spaceflight operations until the new constellation program comes on-line around 2014.
That could put 4,000 jobs at the Kennedy Space Center in jeopardy. Indirectly, 15,000 jobs could be lost, thanks to a slump in the Brevard County economy.
That's why Oviedo Congressman Tom Feeney and State Representative Thad Altman are trying to soften the blow.
Tuesday, they met with Governor Charlie Crist, in search of incentives that could help prevent the kind of recession Brevard had after the Apollo program was ditched in the 1970s.
"We're faced with the same reality, with transitioning from shuttle to the constellation, the new vision on space, going back to the moon and mars, so it's a serious problem, and we're going to have to be very proactive both at the state level and the federal level to ensure that we don't lose this workforce," said Altman, a Republican from Melbourne.
Altman wants money to help encourage jobs in Brevard's aerospace industry. He's also looking for ways to give shuttle workers jobs in other high-tech areas.