COCOA, Fla. -- NASA engineers and other space workers got some encouraging news Wednesday.

It looks like more space workers may keep their jobs after the shuttle retires.

Kelvin Davis is one local space worker who said he lost his job recently because of budget cuts.

He joined several others in opening up a Barack Obama phone bank, telling voters that the Illinois senator supports a $2 billion increase in NASA spending.

Sen. John McCain is also on record for more NASA money, saying along with Obama, the shuttle should fly longer and its replacement should fly sooner.

The shuttle's retirement now means an estimated maximum loss of 4,500 jobs, down from an earlier estimate of 6,400, and workers said more money will put them back to work.

Both houses of Congress have recently voted NASA a $2 billion increase, intended to speed up the first launch of the shuttle's replacement.

The bill awaits the signature of the president, so in effect, the extra money could already be in place before we have a new president.