Far more than space budgets or repairs of the shuttle fleet are at issue.

Its fate and that of the shuttle fleet are intertwined.

A plague of more serious leaks grounded the entire shuttle fleet for six months in 1990.

And if the plan goes forward, years might pass - perhaps a decade or more - before the $25 billion shuttle fleet could be superseded.

Gone for good, he said, is the idea that the current shuttle fleet can be used another 20 years.

The shuttle fleet is to be retired in 2010.

Age has not been kind to the shuttle fleet.

The shuttle fleet has been grounded since the Challenger accident last year.

The shuttle fleet has been plagued by such leaks for three months.

The shuttle fleet has been grounded since the accident.