Norman Augustine: laying plans for NASA. Credit: UPI PHOTO/P. D. MCDERMOTT/NEWSCOM

The committee deliberating NASA's future has outlined seven possible scenarios to shape US space operations for the coming decade. The ten-person panel, chaired by Norman Augustine, retired head of aerospace giant Lockheed Martin, set out its choices in a public meeting in Washington DC on 5 August.

Five of the seven scenarios would extend the life of the International Space Station by five years to 2020; three could allow the space shuttle to continue past 2011; but only two spell out a future for Ares I, the rocket being built to replace the shuttle as the main way of getting astronauts into space.

The number of options presented to the president — whose administration has called for a reduced NASA budget — may change between now and 31 August, when the panel will deliver its final report.