X-37 HAS D.C. ALLY.

PALMDALE - A congressional leader on space issues is labeling the Air Force's decision not to fund the X-37 program as ``egregiously stupid'' and is vowing to press NASA and the military to finance flight tests of the experimental aircraft.

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Huntington Beach, chairman of the subcommittee on space and aeronautics, called the program NASA's last chance to prove it has the right stuff in the area of space access.

Rohrabacher also referred to the X-37 as an important component of the Military Spaceplane program, an effort to develop a spacecraft capable of conducting military missions in orbit.

``Research devoted to this program represented the technological seed corn for such crucial capabilities as space-based missile defenses, neutralizing enemy satellites and having prompt, reliable and inexpensive access to and use of space,'' Rohrabacher said.

``I consider the Air Force decision not to fund the X-37 as one of the most egregiously stupid decisions I've witnessed as a member of Congress.''

Rohrabacher's subcommittee, a part of the Science Committee, is where NASA's budget requests are first heard in Congress.

The Air Force describes the X-37 as the prototype of a reusable, flexible spacecraft that can be launched into space by another vehicle, maneuver using its own engine, and then re-enter the atmosphere and land.

The Air Force's decision is coming at a time when major components of the X-37 are beginning to arrive at Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale for assembly. The lower fuselage of the 27.5-foot-long craft arrived last month, and the wings are expected to arrive this month.

The Air Force said it reached its decision after a 60-day study of the military utility of the X-37 and the X-33 experimental aircraft. The study was conducted with the assistance of NASA and the National Reconnaissance Office.

``Both programs have made significant contributions toward understanding achievable vehicle performance, cost, and integration issues, and have provided valuable information on the dynamics of launching space vehicles,'' the Air Force said in a statement released Friday. ``However, the Air Force assessed these programs against desired military space plane performance requirements. Air Force officials determined neither of these programs provide a level of military utility needed to continue development and funding by the Air Force.''

Work on the program will continue, at least for the short term, under a 1999 cooperative agreement between NASA, Boeing and the Air Force. Combined, the three parties have invested more than $173 million in the program.

The cooperative agreement covers the program through 2002.

Boeing Phantom Works spokesman Erik Simonsen said the company will continue to work on the program under the 1999 agreement, but could not say whether the work would continue until the vehicle is completed.

``We are obviously disappointed with the prospect of not receiving additional funding from the Air Force for the X-37 program,'' Simonsen said.

The Air Force decision prompted NASA to conclude that it could not fund the program either.

``The Air Force has decided the X-37 does not have the operational utility necessary to meet Air Force needs,'' Jeff Bingham, NASA's associate administrator for legislative affairs, wrote to Rohrabacher. ``Taking that into account, NASA has now determined that funding of the Boeing proposal is not cost-effective for NASA.''

Plans called for the X-37 to be ready for drop tests from a modified B-52 in 2002. The X-37 was supposed to be ready for space flights in early 2003.

The drop tests from the B-52 were to examine the X-37's approach and landing qualities prior to conducting two space missions. The space missions were planned to last up to 21 days before the X-37 would have flown itself back to Earth.

The original plan called for the X-37 to be carried into space inside a space shuttle. However, NASA has no money budgeted for such missions, and finding space available on the shuttles is problematic because of the work being done to support the International Space Station.

NASA said the X-37 could also be launched atop a conventional rocket.

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(ran in AV edition only) The future of Boeing's X-37 spacecraft is in doubt with the announcement that the Air Force will not provide further funding for the project.