NASA Aerospace Technology News
by Samuel L. Venneri, Associate Administrator for Aerospace
Technology and Chief Technologist
NASA’s aerospace research programs have always been at the forefront in
the advancement of technology. Working with our industry and academic
partners, we have made our nation a leader in commercial and military
aircraft, and space operations and exploration, but I believe there are
still many exciting horizons to explore. The rate of technological
advancement in a number of fields–information technology,
biotechnology, and nanotechnology–will provide critical and enabling
stepping stones that will enable us to reach those new horizons.
To be successful in our endeavors, we must pioneer a revolution in
technology and engineering. To create the air and space transportation
systems of the future, as well as other highly complex civil and
military systems, we need to develop a new approach to engineering; one
that puts safety, reliability, and mission assurance first. Critical to
unlocking this capability are high-fidelity, collaborative tools and
environments with intuitive human interfaces. This will allow us to
simulate an entire product life-cycle in virtual space; we can complete
our evaluations before cutting the first piece of hardware. Technology
innovation will also enable new characteristics such as intelligence,
rapid self-repair, and adaptability to be built into our advanced
systems.
Our lifeline is our budget. So that you will have the latest news
regarding the ongoing budget process, I want to pass on what is
happening right now. On Tuesday, May 23, 2000, The House
HUD-VA-Independent Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee marked up NASA’s
appropriation bill. NASA received a mark of $13,713.6 which is $321.7M
below the President’s request for FY 2001 but $112.8 above the enacted
FY 2000 number.
The subcommittee reduced the Aerospace Technology by $333.1M from the
requested level. The subcommittee eliminated the $290M for the Space
Launch Initiative, effectively terminating the X-34 and X-37, and
possibly the X-33 programs. The subcommittee also eliminated $49.1M
from the Aviation Systems Capacity program and $9M from the new Small
Aircraft Transportation System (SATS) initiative, effectively
eliminating both programs. The subcommittee added $15M to the
Ultra-Efficient Technology (UEET) program.
In the full House Appropriations Committee markup Wednesday, June 7,
2000, there was an unsuccessful attempt to restore most of the NASA
funding previously cut by the VA-HUD-Independent Agencies Appropriations
Subcommittee. By a very close vote of 23 to 22, an amendment attempting
to restore the funding failed. The bill now goes to the House floor.
As an aid to continuing our successful partnership with the aerospace
industry and academia, I have inaugurated this special newsletter to
bring first hand news to you of the progress we are making in a wide
variety of aerospace research programs. This newsletter is composed of
bite-sized pieces of news with links to a NASA website for those wishing
to know more. The newsletter will be sent every few months initially
and eventually will be sent monthly. I am vitally interested in your
comments on this newsletter and am committed to doing whatever I can to
make it useful to you. Please contact me with any comments by sending
them to: glenn.smith@hq.nasa.gov
Samuel L. Venneri
Associate Administrator for Aerospace Technology
NASA Headquarters
–July 21, 2000
