US space agency Nasa said Friday that it was leaving the door open to reviving the cancelled plan to conduct a climate study from U-tapao naval airbase.

But Thai authorities insisted the plan would then have to undergo a new round of consideration.

No decision has been made "on whether Nasa will be able to fly the mission next year or sometime in the future", said Steve Cole, a Nasa spokesman in Washington.

Nasa scrapped the study after the Thai government delayed action on a request to use U-tapao air base as its operations centre for atmospheric observation during the peak Asian monsoon season.

The opposition Democrat Party had charged that US use of U-tapao, a launchpad for US B-52 bombing missions during the Vietnam War, would infringe on Thai sovereignty, among other things.

Mr Cole said there were a range of options other than U-tapao, both inside and outside Thailand, that could perhaps serve as headquarters for a future study.

''But I don't want to give the impression that Nasa is actively considering specific locations,'' he said. ''We are not yet at that stage.''

Nasa had sought to operate the mission from U-tapao's airfield because of its central geographic location, access to infrastructure and cost considerations, Mr Cole said.

Without basing approval in hand on June 26, the timeframe was too short to get the mission in the field to study the conditions in August and September, ''when unique atmospheric processes occur that were the focus of the campaign'', he said.

Navy commander Surasak Rounroengrom said if Nasa wants to revive the project at U-tapao airport, its request must go through a fresh consideration process.

Originally posted here:

Nasa leaves door open to revive study