A report by an independent panel released Thursday warned that the safety of the shuttle, station, and other NASA programs, while in good shape today, are in jeopardy if major reforms are not implemented.

The annual report of the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP), established by Congress in the wake of the Apollo 1 accident in 1967, concluded that the space agency needs to make greater efforts in areas ranging from space shuttle upgrades to the development of a crew return vehicle to avoid problems down the road.

"NASA's operations evidence high levels of safety consciousness and sincere efforts to place safety foremost," the report stated. "Nevertheless, the Panel's safety concerns have never been greater."

The ASAP report explained that while NASA continues to make safety a major priority for all programs, the agency has failed to provide the resources needed for "effective life cycle planning", spending time and money instead on basic program survival. "There has been a greater emphasis on current operations to the apparent detriment of long-term planning," the report stated. "Thus, while safety continues to be well served at present, the basis for future safety has eroded."

ASAP identified several pivotal areas where long-term safety is a major issue. Among them are concerns that upgrades to the space shuttle fleet are being neglected. "Responding to budgetary pressures has forced the program to eliminate or defer many already planned and engineered improvements," the report concluded. ASAP recommended that the agency move ahead with "ready-to-install" safety upgrades and acquire more spare parts to ensure that shuttles can continue to be serviced for years to come.

ASAP also sounded a cautionary note about space shuttle privatization, an issue NASA is currently studying. "The Panel is concerned that any plan to transition from the current operational posture to one of privatization will inherently involve an upheaval with increased risk in its wake," the report stated. While ASAP indicated it was not opposed to privatization in principle, it said that safety implications should be included in any decision to transfer the shuttle fleet to a private operator.

The report also asked NASA to press ahead with plans to expand the capacity of the International Space Station from three to seven people, a move that is currently on indefinite hold while the station's management and financial issues are straightened out. ASAP is concerned that a three-person crew "will not be able to perform all the required tasks without impacting crew health, safety, and/or performance." The report recommended NASA continue work on the X-38, a prototype of a crew return vehicle, or find a suitable substitute to allow the station to expand.

The panel also raised concerns about the aging of NASA's workforce, an issue that ASAP has brought up on a regular basis in recent years. It also warned that a decrease in the shuttle flight rate to four missions a year, currently being contemplated by NASA, could exacerbate the workforce issue by forcing NASA and contractors to lay off experienced personnel.

NASA did not have an immediate response to the ASAP report, nor was one expected. Its official response to last year's report was made nearly three months after the report was published.