The House passed the Consolidated Appropriations bill (H.R. 3288) yesterday that includes the Commerce-Justice-Science appropriations bill that funds NASA, NSF and NOAA. Details about the bill are posted on the House Appropriations Committee’s website. The DOD appropriations bill is not included in the package.

NASA would receive $18.7 billion, the same amount as requested, though there are adjustments within that overall figure. Language in the bill states that NASA cannot spend any of the funds to terminate the current Constellation program or begin a different program. Report language explains that Congress continues to await a decision by President Obama on the future of the human space flight program and that “accordingly it is premature for the conferees to advocate or initiate significant changes to the current program absent a bona fide proposal from the Administration and subsequent assessment, consideration and enactment by Congress.”

The vote was 221-202, with all Republicans and 28 Democrats opposing the bill, according to Congress Daily (subscription required), which added that Senate Republicans are expected to oppose the bill and use procedural measures to slow debate. The Senate is expected to remain in session this weekend (as it did last weekend) to try and pass the bill.

The Department of Defense appropriations bill (H.R. 3326) is the only pending FY2010 appropriations bill not included in the package. House and Senate leaders reportedly hope to pass that bill by the end of next week when the current Continuing Resolution expires. Congress Daily reports that the DOD bill is likely to be used as a vehicle to extend unemployment insurance, COBRA health and food stamp benefits, and deal with several other matters.

Congressional appropriators have reached agreement on an omnibus appropriations package that includes the Commerce-Justice-Science (CJS) appropriations bill, which funds NASA, NOAA, and NSF. Details are available on the House Appropriations Committee’s website. More details are in the bill and report language in the statement of managers.

Invoking the heartwarming — and heartbreaking — story of Nkosi Johnson, a South African boy who was infected with AIDS at birth and died at 12 after traveling the world with an inspiring message, NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden today called upon the aerospace community to embrace necessary changes that seem to be on the horizon.

Saying that “we have tough times ahead” and “some of you aren’t going to like me” as NASA adjusts to doing different things in different ways, he asked for support. He recalled Nkosi telling NPR’s Jim Wooten as the end of his life neared to “Do all you can with what you have in the time you have in the place you are.” Nkosi’s story is the subject of a 2007 book by Wooten, We Are All the Same.

Bolden stressed that one of the changes will be increased international cooperation, a goal embraced by President Obama: “He wants it and so do I.” Later, when asked about the impact of ITAR export control regulations on such cooperation, he responded that Secretary of Defense Gates is leading the drive on ITAR reform and NASA’s “persistence” on the issue helped raise awareness of its negative impact. Bolden said he is “encouraged” about ITAR reform.

Speaking to a luncheon meeting of Woman in Aerospace and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, the main thrust of Gen. Bolden’s speech was the crucial importance of getting children interested in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education. He said that one promise he made to President Obama was that NASA would again inspire future generations as it did during the Apollo era. “We need to change our mindset” from thinking about NASA as a collection of missions to focusing on its role in innovation that drives the national economy.

He drew a laugh as he opened his talk by saying that he was not going to address anything about the Augustine committee report, so those who had come to hear about it would be disappointed.

The National Research Council (NRC)’s new report on “mission-enabling” activities — or Research and Analysis ( R&A) — offers principles and metrics for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate (SMD) to use in determining how to allocate R&A funding and recommendations on how to manage the R&A portfolio. The Space Studies Board’s committee that wrote the report, An Enabling Foundation for NASA’s Earth and Space Science Missions, was chaired by Dr. Lennard Fisk of the University of Michigan. Dr. Fisk is a former chair of the Space Studies Board and former NASA Associate Administrator for Space Science and Applications.

Spaceflight projects consume approximately 75% of SMD’s budget while mission-enabling activities take up the rest, according to the report, which identifies those activities as “basic research, theory, modeling, and data analysis; suborbital payloads and flights and complementary ground-based programs; advanced technology development; and advanced mission and instrumentation concept studies.”

The space and earth sciences communities loudly protested a 15% across-the-board cut in R&A spending in NASA’s FY2007 budget request. Congress restored much of that funding and when Alan Stern joined NASA as the Associate Administrator for SMD, he took a number of actions to resolve the communities’ concerns. Questions remained , though, about the importance of R&A to NASA’s goals and mission, how to determine how much R&A funding is needed, and whether that varies depending on the discipline. (SMD divides its disciplines into four divisions — astrophysics, heliophysics, earth science, and planetary exploration.) Congress subsequently directed NASA to ask the NRC to look into these issues.

The NRC report reiterates the importance of R&A activities, but stresses that they need to be linked to NASA’s and SMD’s strategic goals. The committee also concluded that the R&A needs of each discipline vary. Asserting that “performance metrics are essential tools for making effective portfolio management decisions,” the report provides a template for what it believes should be provided for such metrics to enhance transparency, which in turn will help justify the expenditures. The report also recommends that SMD “develop and implement an approach to actively managing” the R&A portfolio, and increase the number of “scientifically and technically capable program officers so that they can devote an appropriate level of attention” to that task.

NASA’s Mars Rover, Spirit, is still stuck on Mars after two weeks of attempts by experts at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to get it moving. In an interview on NPR, John Callas, project manager for the Mars rovers, explained the difficulty in extricating Spirit from the “slippery, sandy stuff” in which it has been stuck for the past six months. One of Spirit’s six wheels stopped functioning about three years ago, but that one is not the problem now. The rover broke through a crusty surface into loose material below and the five functioning wheels cannot get enough traction to move. Callas said that the rover still could do a lot of science from a stationary position, although JPL is a bit worried about the oncoming winter and whether sufficient sunlight will reach the rover’s solar panels to keep it alive. The rover is tilted southward now, and the Sun will be in the northern sky during the winter, which arrives in May on that part of Mars.

A SpacePolicyOnline.com summary of the December 3, 2009 hearing before two subcommittees of the House Science and Technology Committee is now available. Look on our left menu under “Our Hearing Summaries” or simply click here.

The following events may be of interest next week. For further information, see our calendar on the right menu or click on the links provided below. Note that congressional hearings are subject to change. Check the relevant committee’s website for up to date information.

During the Week

• Action on the remaining FY2010 appropriations bills may come at any time.
• The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation committee approved the nomination of Philip Coyle to be Associate Director for National Security and International Affairs at OSTP on December 3. His nomination could be brought to the Senate floor at any time. (The Senate is in session this weekend, too.)

Tuesday-Thursday, December 8-10

• NASA-DARPA international conference on orbital debris removal, Westfields Marriott Hotel, Chantilly, VA (see NASA’s October 2009 Orbital Debris Quarterly News for more information)

Wednesday, December 9

• WIA/AIAA Luncheon with NASA Administrator Bolden, 11:30-1:30, Ritz-Carlton Pentagon City, Arlington, VA.
• House Foreign Affairs subcommittee hearing on Aerospace Export Controls, 2:00 pm, 2200 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC

Thursday, December 10

• WIA Breakfast with NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco, 7:30-9:00, Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill, Washington, DC.
• Fourth Eilene M. Galloway Symposium on Critical Issues in Space Law, International Cooperation for Peaceful Purposes, 8:30-4:30, Cosmos Club, Washington, DC
• House Science and Technology Committee hearing on Aerospace Workforce and Industrial Base, 10:00 am, 2318 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC

Friday, December 11

• International Space Station Advisory Committee, 1:00-2:00, room 7H45, NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC

As the clock ticks down on the current Continuing Resolution, which expires on December 18, seven of the 12 appropriations bills still have not been cleared by Congress. All seven have passed the House, but only four have passed the Senate. Conference agreements on the four that have passed both houses, including the Commerce-Justice-Science (CJS) bill that includes NASA, NOAA and NSF, and the Department of Defense (DOD) bill — have not been reached.

Congress continues to discuss how to get these remaining bills enacted. Congress Daily (subscription required) reports today that no definitive strategy has been agreed upon, but quotes House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) as saying that he hopes to have all of them completed in the next two weeks. One reported scenario is that all but the DOD bill will be wrapped together into an omnibus package along with jobs-related legislation, a short term extension of the PATRIOT Act, and a provision to prevent a scheduled cut to Medicare reimbursements to physicians. The DOD bill reportedly might include a debt limit increase. Such legislation would have to go back to the Senate for a vote, which is currently focused on health care legislation.

Stay tuned!

For the status of the appropriations bills, visit the Thomas website of the Library of Congress.

A SpacePolicyOnline.com summary of Wednesday’s hearing on Ensuring the Safety of Human Space Flight before the Space and Aeronautics subcommittee of the House Science and Technology Committee is now available. Look on our left menu under Hearing Summaries or simply click here.

The testimony from the House Science and Technology Committee’s subcommittee hearing on ensuring the safety of human space flight is available on the committee’s website, along with opening remarks from subcommittee Chairwoman Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ). Opening remarks from committee Ranking Member Ralph Hall (R-TX) and subcommittee Ranking Member Pete Olson (R-TX) are available on the committee’s Republican website. Neither has posted the webcast yet.