That left no transport at all after the Challenger disaster.
The rocket project, he stressed, was begun before the Challenger disaster.
Canadarm 302 was lost during the Challenger disaster in 1986.
This feature can be seen in videos of the Challenger disaster.
"The Challenger disaster had a negative impact on the growth rate last year," he said.
The decision is markedly different from the one made in 1986 after the Challenger disaster.
After the Challenger disaster, the shuttle was grounded until 1988.
In all, there have been seven shuttle flights since the Challenger disaster.
It is the nation's third shuttle flight since the Challenger disaster more than three years ago.
But after the Challenger disaster, those projections were pushed back about three years.