The Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel, an outside safety watchdog for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, has cautioned that NASA could move into serious safety challenges if it depends on private companies to ferry astronauts into space in the near future.

The Obama administration is on the track of speeding up rocket development, saving money and concentrating federal dollars on longer-term expeditions for which it has proceeded with the plan to outsource a chunk of its manned space program to private companies.

The data unveiled last week is likely to provide a boost to NASA officials who support keeping nearly all manned space programs in house.

Space agency NASA has reduced the price of used space shuttles Discovery, Endeavour and Atlantis, from $42 million to $28.8 million. The shuttles will be available for sale from Feb. 19, 2010.

In addition, NASA's largest and longstanding contractors, such as Boeing Corp. and Lockheed Martin Corp., are up with their unceasing efforts to grab White House backing against outsourcing more programs.

NASA, which has been severely rebuked by the government for accessing private companies to ferry astronauts, has to initiate some measures to obey to the ventures initiated by the government.