NASA Budget Outlook Still Uncertain

NASA Budget Outlook Still Uncertain

As everyone anticipates the final report of the Augustine committee, NASA’s FY2010 budget awaits action in Congress and the FY2011 budget request is being formulated. Although Congress Daily reported earlier this month that the appropriations bill that includes NASA (Commerce, Justice, Science) could be among the first action items for the Senate when it returns in September, Space News reported today in its print edition that “The White House is expected to submit an amended 2010 budget request for NASA’s exploration program by mid-September…” Nothing is impossible, but it would seem odd for the Senate to move an appropriations bill to the floor if an Administration amendment is expected imminently.

Some news outlets already are projecting that the Obama Administration will choose not to increase NASA’s budget markedly. That would leave the agency as it is now — with too much program for its budget — or with a reduced portfolio that more closely matches the resources that will be made available. Neither is quite what space program advocates expected from an Obama presidency.

On a cheerier note, White House guidance regarding the FY2011 budget formulation process for science and technology specifically notes the importance of the space program. After listing four “practical challenges,” the August 4 memo from OMB Director Orszag and OSTP Director Holdren identifies four requirements for addressing them. The fourth is: “Enhancing our capabilities in space, which are essential for communications, geopostioning, intelligence gathering, Earth observation, and national defense, as well as for increasing our understanding of the universe and our place in it.” The extent to which the latter goal is dependent on human space exploration rather than robotic is open to interpretation. At the very least, there is no indication that the White House lacks an appreciation of the space program’s potential. The question is whether it will provide the money needed to realize it.

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