AIP FYI #130: Senate Report Language on NASA Programs

As reported in FYI #129, the Senate Appropriations Committee, in the
report accompanying its FY 2005 VA/HUD Appropriations bill, included
lengthy report language on NASA and the President’s vision for space
exploration. The entire text of the report (S. Rept. 108-353) is
available at http://thomas.loc.gov/ under “Committee Reports.”
Selections from the report’s introductory section on NASA follow:

SPACE EXPLORATION VISION: “Early this year the President announced a
vision to return man to the Moon and eventually to Mars. This vision
has provided an overall direction for NASA. Such a Presidential
vision has been missing from NASA for many years. While many
programs at NASA have been working, in some cases exceptionally, a
comprehensive initiative to orient the mission of NASA has been
lacking. The Committee is supportive of the vision, but has
reservations about the low level of details provided in the fiscal
year 2005 budget request on how this vision will be accomplished.”

“By providing a vision, the President has prompted a discussion
about what NASA could do, or should be doing. The budget NASA has
presented to the Committee outlines the plan for implementing the
vision, yet does not provide sufficient details for the technical
and scientific goals to be reached by embracing the vision. The
Committee understands that as any plan moves forward, particularly
in an area of high risk such as space, that adjustments in time and
budget will be necessary. However, a sufficient framework must be
established prior to embarking on a path that may ultimately cost
hundreds of billions of dollars.

“NASA’s new vision maps out an aggressive role for the United States
in both manned and unmanned space exploration. However, the
potential out-year costs are substantial and will likely be very
difficult to sustain. In addition, the Committee believes that there
must be a commitment to those activities at NASA that are already
underway. The Shuttle program and the construction of the ISS
continue to be the primary focus of the Nation’s manned space flight
activities. Nevertheless, the Committee believes that a replacement
for the Space Shuttle’s manned and heavy lift capabilities must be
considered as part of any plan for continued human access to space.

“The Committee is concerned that the current implementation plans
for the new vision do not properly address the requirements and
development for the heavy lift capability that may be necessary to
carry out the proposed vision. A complete review of such plans must
be conducted prior to embarking fully upon the implementation of the
proposed vision.”

“NASA has the opportunity to lay the groundwork for a successful
implementation of the proposed vision. The current budget
justification does not provide the details the Committee expects to
see for such a dramatic undertaking. The Committee expects NASA to
take initial steps for implementing the vision in fiscal year 2005,
and to provide year-by-year budgetary and developmental goals
related to the vision for the next 5 years, along with 10-year
summary budget totals, in the fiscal year 2006 request.”

RETIREMENT OF SHUTTLE: “NASA has presented a timeframe for the
retirement of the Shuttle program which assumes an end in the
program around 2010. This timeframe is essential if resources are to
be available for the Crew Exploration Vehicle [CEV] in order to meet
a potential Moon mission between 2015 and 2020. If there are delays
in the Shuttle program that push retirement beyond 2010, then funds
for CEV development will also be delayed. At a time when the Shuttle
fleet continues to be grounded, the Committee feels that the
schedule NASA has presented is overly ambitious and optimistic.”

PHASE-OUT OF EXISTING PROGRAMS: “As part of the proposed
exploration vision, NASA will begin to phase-out existing programs
in order to accommodate the vision. These plans must be clearly
identified in order for NASA to smoothly transition older programs
to make way for missions associated with the vision…. The current
Federal fiscal environment is not favorable to supporting completely
the budget NASA has presented for fiscal year 2005. The out-year
costs also seem overly optomistic at time when both the
administration and Congress are committed to reducing the Federal
budget deficit. However, steps toward laying the foundation of
future NASA initiatives must be taken in order for there to be a
future for many NASA activities once the Shuttle program is retired
and the International Space Station is completed.

“The Committee is also concerned that NASA will neglect areas that
will only tangentially benefit from, or that do not fit within, the
proposed vision. Within the fiscal year 2005 budget request,
programs and infrastructure are proposed to be deferred, or
cancelled, in such areas. These programs appear to be the sacrifices
for the near-term budgetary resources needed to facilitate the
implementation of the new Moon/Mars vision.”

NEED FOR STRONG, BALANCED SCIENCE PROGRAM: “The new national space
policy to proceed with human and robotic exploration of the Moon,
Mars, and beyond has profound implications for all of the science
conducted by NASA. While the Committee applauds those goals, it is
concerned that the strong, balanced science program that has served
the Nation so successfully for many years should be nurtured and
sustained as the new policy is implemented. That science program has
been based on a set of carefully crafted scientific strategies that
are founded on scientific and technical merit, relevance to overall
national needs, and broad consultation with the scientific community
via the National Academy of Sciences. Consequently, the Committee
directs the National Academies’ Space Studies Board to conduct a
thorough review of the science that NASA is proposing to undertake
under the new policy and to develop a strategy by which all of
NASA’s science disciplines, including Earth science, space science,
and life and microgravity science, can make adequate progress
towards their established goals, as well as providing scientific
research in support of the new policy. Further, the Committee is
troubled by the abrupt and seemingly unilateral decision to alter
the science conducted aboard the ISS to focus solely on biological
and physiological research without any consultation with or
authorization by Congress. As part of the scientific review, the
National Academy of Sciences shall also consider the new direction
of research proposed by NASA on the ISS and whether it is compatible
with the overall national research needs identified in past Academy
reports…. Prior to receipt and consideration of the report, NASA
is directed to maintain a balanced science program that follows
priorities that have been recommended by the National Academy of
Sciences and agreed to by Congress.”

Audrey T. Leath

Media and Government Relations Division

The American Institute of Physics

fyi@aip.org

www.aip.org/gov

(301) 209-3094