If you travel enough that gets to be an oft-heard and much dreaded refrain. But its not just a problem for frequent fliers; it looks like NASA’s follow-on to the Space Shuttle, the Orion crew capsule, may also end up overbooked. Planners are now weighing whether to fly the capsule with four seats, instead of the advertised six.

It all comes down to weight: The Orion has to be able to land using just two of its three parachutes. That in turn means that the capsule can weigh no more than 9525 kg (2100 lbs). At present it’s within “a couple of hundred pounds” of that weight limit, according to Jeff Hanley, who oversees the Orion’s development.

All of this may add to fuel to the efforts of some in Congress to keep the shuttle running past its 2010 retirement date.

Image: NASA