AIP FYI #117: House Appropriators Would Increase Funding for NASA Science Programs

House appropriators completed their version of the FY 2003 VA/HUD funding
bill (H.R. 5605) on October 9. This bill would increase NASA’s budget by
2.7 percent over FY 2002. According to the committee’s report, Human Space
Flight funding would fall by 11.3 percent, while the Science, Aeronautics
and Technology budget would grow by 15.9 percent. Within the SAT category,
it appears that Space Science, Earth Science, and Biological and Physical
Research would all see healthy increases. By comparison, the Senate bill,
completed in July, would provide increases of 2.0 percent for NASA and 12.4
percent for Science, Aeronautics and Technology.

The next step would normally be a vote by the full House on H.R. 5605, and
then a House-Senate conference to reconcile the differing versions of the
bill. Members of Congress are not expected to return to continue work on
the appropriations bills until sometime after the November 5 elections. The
latest (and sixth so far) continuing resolution to keep government programs
funded will run until November 22. With so many spending bills yet to be
finalized, it is unclear when, or how, the FY 2003 appropriations process
will end.

The committee report provides details on the House committee’s actions.
Selected portions of the report are quoted below. The entire report (H.
Rpt. 107-740) can be viewed at http://thomas.loc.gov/ and FYI #91
(http://www.aip.org/enews/fyi/2002/091.html) provides details of the
Senate version.
HUMAN SPACE FLIGHT:

“The Committee recommends a total of $6,130,900,000 for the human space
flight account in fiscal year 2003.” According to the report, this is
identical to the budget request and 11.3 percent less than FY 2002 funding
of $6,912.4 million.

This section of the report contains no specific language on the
International Space Station.

SCIENCE, AERONAUTICS AND TECHNOLOGY:

“The Committee recommends $9,144,500,000 for Science, Aeronautics and
Technology in fiscal year 2003. The amount recommended is an increase of
$300,000,000 to the budget request” and 15.9 percent over the fiscal year
2002 appropriation.

According to the report, “This appropriation provides for the research and
development activities of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
These activities include: space science, life and microgravity science,
earth sciences, aero-space technology, advanced concepts and technology,
space operations, and academic programs. Funds are also included for the
construction, maintenance, and operation of programmatic facilities.”

Unlike the Senate committee report, the House report provides specific
funding levels for the Offices of Space Science, Earth Science, and
Biological and Physical Research.

SPACE SCIENCE:

“Within the Space Science portion of this account, the Committee recommends
$3,556,200,000, a net increase of $141,900,000 to the budget request.” This
is an increase of 24.8 percent over the FY 2002 budget.

The report notes that “The Committee is supportive of the New Frontiers
Program as a competitive process to undertake missions to the outer planets.
The Committee is concerned that the New Frontiers Program as proposed by
NASA may be unduly constrained by a uniform cap on mission costs of $650
million. Since the purpose of the program is to undertake scientifically
valuable missions, the cap should not limit the mission options being
considered. The Committee supports New Frontiers with a flexible cap for
each new opportunity ($500 million to $1 billion in fiscal year 2002
dollars) prior to open competition, giving due consideration to specified
scientific objectives.”

Of the “adjustments” made to the budget request, the committee would
provide an increase of $105.0 million for the Kuiper Belt/Pluto mission and
an increase of $19.9 million for the Mars program “to cover recent cost
increases.” The Nuclear Electric Propulsion program and the Nuclear Power
System program would be reduced by $10.0 million and $7.0 million,
respectively, from the request.

An additional $40.0 million over the request would be provided for the
Europa mission. “In light of the high priority by the National Academy
decadal study for a Europa Orbiter Mission and the public support for Europa
exploration as indicated by the recent survey of the Planetary Society,” the
report says, “the Committee directs NASA to conduct a focused technology
program and begin Phase A activities to ensure that this mission is ready at
the earliest possible opportunity and that NASA preserves its core
capabilities to implement and manage such a mission at the Jet Propulsion
Laboratory. The Committee recommendation includes $30,000,000 for this
activity and an additional $10,000,000 for instrument technology. The
Committee is aware that JPL has an relationships with research universities
on its outer planetary programs and anticipates that a majority of the
$10,000,000 million will be expended solidifying those relationships.”

An increase of $7.5 million over the request would be provided “for
development of a lightweight carrier pallet to support the Hubble Space
Telescope program. The recent success of the Hubble servicing mission has
underscored the continued importance of the Hubble Space Telescope. NASA’s
plan for HST has been to discontinue servicing missions after 2004 in order
to create a funding wedge for the next generation space telescope (NGST),
the community’s highest priority, and to return HST to earth in 2010.
Although this scenario creates an important funding wedge, it also leads to
a significant probability that HST will degrade over the intervening
six-year period and become inoperable well before 2010. This gap may be so
long that HST archival data alone may not sustain a productive scientific
community. The Committee directs that NASA carry out an in-depth study of
possible alternatives to the 2010 return mission that would increase the
probability of operating HST until NGST becomes available. This study
should address the possibility of an additional servicing mission, SM5, and
as an alternative, a final servicing mission in 2007 in lieu of the 2010
mission that would include a means of disposing of HST other than by Shuttle
return. This study should address the relative costs of such scenarios, the
potential scientific benefits, and the mission constraints that will need to
be considered for the 2010 return mission.”

EARTH SCIENCE:

“Within the Earth Sciences portion of this account, the Committee
recommends $1,675,000,000, a net increase of $46,600,000 to the budget
request.” This is a 6.5 percent increase over FY 2002 funding.

The report states, “The fiscal year 2002 appropriations bill and
accompanying reports gave NASA Congressional direction to establish an
implementation plan for Earth science applications partnerships. NASA
completed the report on its implementation plan in June of 2002 and
forwarded the report to the Committee for its review. The Committee has
reviewed the report and finds that it offers a good basis on which to build
a credible program utilizing remote sensing data from the Earth Observing
System. Accordingly, the Committee recommendations do not include any
funding for new remote sensing applications centers, but urges NASA to
follow through with its implementation plan which calls for a widely
competed program.”

BIOLOGICAL AND PHYSICAL RESEARCH:

“Within the Biological and Physical Research portion of this account, the
Committee recommends $854,200,000, a net increase of $11,900,000 to the
budget request.” This is an increase of 19.6 percent over the FY 2002
level.

“The Committee,” the report says, “remains committed to a healthy and
productive Materials Science research program. This program has undergone
multiple reviews by the National Research Council. It has also produced a
backlog of well-respected investigators whose experiments have undergone
multiple peer reviews, certifying that they will provide useful scientific
returns that can only be obtained in the microgravity environment of space.

“The Committee is concerned that recent changes to the Materials Science
program have jeopardized the ability of the International Space Station to
support a robust materials science research program. Therefore, the
Committee expects NASA to maintain its commitment to a healthy materials
research program, which at a minimum includes the timely completion of the
Materials Science Research Rack – 1, its experiment modules and module
inserts, and the planned, peer-reviewed materials investigations that were
to utilize this facility.”

Among the adjustments to the budget request, the committee would cut $11.2
million “from the Generations program. The Committee recognizes the value
of the research being proposed through the Generations program, but finds
the program too unaffordable at this time given shortages in funding for
equipment for the International Space Station.” An increase of $8.0 million
is provided “for procurement of animal and plant habitats for the
international space station.”

ACADEMIC PROGRAMS:

“Within the Academic Programs portion of this account, the Committee
recommends $178,950,000 an increase of $35,250,000 to the budget request.”

“The Committee has serious concerns that too few students are pursuing
advanced degrees in aerospace science and engineering, with a result that
the Nation’s future in the utilization and exploration of space will be
compromised…. NASA, with its longstanding support of university-based
research, is in a unique position to ensure that the university research
base, and the educational opportunities that accompany it, are sufficient to
the Nation’s needs.” NASA is directed to work with research universities to
develop a plan to increase “the number of students pursuing advanced degrees
in the presence of vibrant university research efforts. The plan should
include means to increase the number of university research and educational
groups, to increase the number of new, young faculty; to build cooperative
relationships between universities and NASA centers; and means for
attracting and supporting students. The plan should be submitted to the
Committee by March 15, 2003 and will serve as the basis for consideration of
the fiscal year 2004 NASA budget.

“The Committee encourages NASA to develop closer working relationships with
universities in regions adjacent to national laboratories. National
laboratories have assets and capabilities that are important to graduate
student support and collaborations with regional universities.”

Among its changes to the budget request, the committee would provide an
additional $5.4 million for the EPSCoR program to bring its budget up to the
FY 2002 level of $10.0 million. An increase of $5.0 million for the
National Space Grant College and Fellowship program would fund this program
at the FY 2002 level of $24.1 million. “By this action, the Committee has
funded the core programs of the 52 consortia, including some modest
upgrades. NASA is encouraged to use these consortia to continue workforce
development initiative to attract and retain educated, skilled diverse
employees for [NASA] and aerospace industries. It is imperative that NASA
encourage additional young people to pursue careers in science and
engineering and these consortia are on the front lines for this effort.”

Audrey T. Leath

Media and Government Relations Division

The American Institute of Physics

fyi@aip.org

(301) 209-3094

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