VA/HUD Conference Report H. Rpt. 107-272 (NASA Excerpt)
MAKING APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE DEPARTMENTS OF VETERANS AFFAIRS AND HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT, AND FOR SUNDRY INDEPENDENT AGENCIES, BOARDS, COMMISSIONS, CORPORATIONS, AND OFFICES FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING SEPTEMBER 30, 2002, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
Of the amounts approved by the conferees in this agreement, NASA must limit reprogramming of funds between programs and activities to not more than $500,000 without prior notification to the Committees on Appropriations of the House and Senate. Any activity or program cited in this report shall be construed as the position of the conferees and should not be subject to reductions or reprogramming without prior approval. NASA shall provide outyear implications of all reprogrammings and operating plan changes should the Committees request the information.
HUMAN SPACE FLIGHT
(INCLUDING TRANSFERS OF FUNDS)
The conferees agree to provide $6,912,400,000 for human space flight instead of $6,868,000,000 as proposed by the Senate and $7,047,400,000 as proposed by the House. The House had also proposed an additional $275,000,000 for development of a crew return vehicle for the international space station ISS. The funding provided includes a reduction of $50,000,000 associated with the cancellation of the Electric Auxiliary Power Unit upgrade which has experienced technical difficulties, an increase of $20,000,000 for high priority safety upgrades for a total of $207,000,000, an increase of $25,000,000 for the repair/replacement of doors on the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center, a reduction of $20,000,000 from the Human Exploration and Development of Space program, and a general reduction of $75,000,000 from the ISS program. The conferees have not provided any additional funding for the Crew Return Vehicle, for which the House had proposed $275,000,000. The funding level also reflects the transfer of $283,600,000 for ISS research from the human space flight account to the science, aeronautics and technology account.
The conferees are in agreement with the ISS Management and Cost Evaluation report that in order to establish a credible ISS program that achieves maximum research potential, it is necessary to keep enhancements viable. for this reason, the conferees direct that NASA should provide no less than $40,000,000 for the X-38 vehicle.
The conferees direct that not less than $207,000,000 be made available for Space Shuttle Safety Upgrades, unless NASA outlines in a fiscal year 2002 Operating Plan adjustment, agreed to by the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations, reallocations from this level necessary to preserve balance in NASA’s stated priority goals for the Shuttle Program, as follows: (1) fly safely; (2) meet the flight manifest; (3) improve supportability; and (4) improve the system. The conferees agree that further clarification on NASA’s shuttle upgrade program is required, including how the program relates to future shuttle alternatives and infrastructure needs. NASA is directed to submit a report addressing these issues by March 15, 2002.
The conferees are in agreement that the ISS shall be funded at no more than $1,963,600,000 in fiscal year 2002, including civil service compensation.
When the House and the Senate drafted their respective bills, the Administration had recently proposed dramatic changes to the ISS program in light of a purported shortfall of over $4,000,000,000. The redesigned station was dubbed `U.S. Core Complete’ and included elimination of the Crew Return Vehicle, the Habitation Module, the Propulsion Module, a 37 percent reduction in ISS science, and undefined `management efficiencies’ and better cost estimating. It was the position of the House at that time that such changes could not be endorsed given the limited amount of information available to the Congress. It was this lack of information which led the House to conclude that termination of the Crew Return Vehicle was premature, that NASA should be encouraged to pursue an international barter arrangement for development and construction of a habitation module, and that a significant add-back to the ISS science program was warranted. In the hope of getting more information, the House initiated an investigation into the ISS program with the goal of answering basic questions with regard to the real cost of the program, the underlying cause of cost increases, lapses in oversight and the causes thereof, and the extent to which previously identified problems or concerns were not addressed.
The initial stages of the House investigation have been completed with the conclusion being that the concept of `U.S. Core Complete’ is ill-defined, that the science program needs to be more rigorously evaluated, that all options for enhancing crew time for research need to be fully explored, and that international agreements need to be evaluated and compliance with such agreements needs to be clarified. It is also the initial conclusion of the House investigation that NASA’s lack of an integrated financial management system impedes its ability to determine the status of contract execution and provide program managers with necessary financial information.
The conferees are in agreement that first and foremost the Director of the Office of Management and Budget and the Administrator of NASA shall submit a report to the Committees on Appropriations of the House and the Senate which defines in specific detail the U.S. Core Complete configuration of the ISS and provides a ten-year total funding profile for that configuration; clearly defines the content and scope of the research science program; and provides costs and schedule to develop the Crew Return Vehicle. The conferees are aware of ongoing negotiations between NASA and the Italian Space Agency concerning a stretch version of the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module as a substitute for the habitation module. The conferees see the utility of using a proven platform and encourage NASA to move with all deliberate speed, subject to an appropriate and cost-effective barter arrangement.
The conferees are in agreement that the Director of OMB shall certify and report such certification to the Committees on Appropriations of the House and the Senate, that any proposal to enhance the ISS design above the content planned for U.S. Core Complete, is (1) necessary and of the highest priority to enhance the goal of world class research in space aboard the International Space Station; (2) within acceptable risk levels, having no major unresolved technical issues and a high confidence in independently validated cost and schedule estimates; and (3) affordable within the multi-year funding available to the ISS program as defined above or, if exceeds such amounts, the additional resources are not achieved through any funding reduction to programs contained in Space Science, Earth Science, and Aeronautics.
The conferees are aware of a study being conducted by the National Research Council per the direction of the House Committee on Science and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation to address the station research program. If possible, the conferees would like the National Research Council to expand that study to compare and evaluate the research programs of the ISS which can be accomplished with a crew of three and a crew of six; and, an assessment of the probable cost-benefit ratios of those programs, compared with earthbound research which could be funded in lieu of research conducted on the ISS.
The conferees agree with the direction contained in the Senate report for NASA to empanel a task force to study all options, together with their costs, for enhancing crew research time on the U.S. Core Complete ISS.
The conferees are concerned that NASA lacks an integrated financial management system and therefore can not adequately manage its programs. NASA is directed to place the highest priority on correcting this fundamental management deficiency, a deficiency which should have been corrected many years ago.
Finally, the conferees direct the Secretary of State, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, and the Administrator of NASA to submit a joint explanation of how the United States is fulfilling its written commitments to its ISS international partners. This report is due no later than July 15, 2002.
With regard to the decision by the conferees to reduce the ISS budget by $75,000,000 in fiscal year 2002, the conferees note that the Post-Assembly Operations Cost Estimates (November 1999) and a report on ISS Operations Architecture (August 2000) both called for significant reductions in personnel associated with the program. Yet NASA and the ISS program management refuse to implement the provisions of these two reports for no apparent reason other than the desire to maintain a standing army of personnel. The conferees have reached the conclusion that the only way management will actually manage the program, and thereby get its costs under control, is through being forced to live with less. The conferees are reluctant to take this approach, but find that the intransient management cannot be trusted to make the tough decisions on their own and must be forced to make decisions which are in the long-term interest of the program. NASA is directed to submit to the Committees on Appropriations of the House and the Senate a report, concurrent with submission of the fiscal year 2003 budget, which describes its plans for managing and operating the ISS over the life of the station, to include specific manpower and financial needs for operation and support.
SCIENCE, AERONAUTICS, AND TECHNOLOGY
(INCLUDING TRANSFER OF FUNDS)
Space Science
The conferees have agreed to provide $2,848,937,000 for space science programs, an increase of $62,575,000 to the budget request.
The conferees agree with the House that by merging the budgets for aeronautics and space into a single `aerospace technology’ program element several years ago, NASA has made it virtually impossible to account for the current investment in aeronautics. For this reason, the conferees direct NASA to reestablish a consolidated aeronautics line in the fiscal year 2003 budget submission that comprehensively covers all research base, focused, and advanced technology programs, and related test facilities and civil service costs. NASA should also provide a clear budget crosscut identifying all aeronautics programmatic activities in the current budget structure in its initial fiscal year 2002 operating plan.
The conferees recognize the need for maintaining core capabilities at NASA centers with responsibility for space science missions and operations. As a result, the conferees will support permitting the Europa Orbiter (EO) mission to be sole sourced intramurally, provided that the NASA Administrator certifies to the Committees on Appropriations of the House and the Senate in the fiscal year 2002 operating plan that such action is essential to maintain said core capabilities. The conferees expect that in making any such determination, the Administrator will guarantee that there is a specific and demonstrable plan to ensure that sufficient core and focused program outer planetary Advanced Technology Development (ATD) funds will be available to extramural entities in industry and academia through full and open competition, with the five-year profile for this competition specified in the fiscal year 2003 budget submission. NASA should proceed with the selection of Europa science instruments as planned and shall cap the total EO program costs (ATD and execution of all phases A/E) at $1,000,000,000. No reduction for EO instrument support to the selected science teams should be made in fiscal year 2002.
The conferees have not accepted the Senate proposal to reduce NASA’s space operations budget by $25,000,000 by transferring Telecommunication and Mission Operations Directorate (TMOD) functions at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory to the Consolidated Space Operations Contract (CSOC). The conferees note that NASA has transferred some non-critical positions to the CSOC contract and direct NASA to continue this effort by transferring no less than five percent of the non-critical positions to CSOC and work toward increasing this percentage in future years if warranted. In addition, the conferees transfer TMOD to the Office of Space Science and direct that any savings resulting from the transfer of TMOD positions be reinvested in science missions.
The conferees agree to the following changes to the budget request:
1. An increase of $1,675,000 for the Center for Space Sciences at Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas.
2. An increase of $3,000,000 for space solar power.
3. An increase of $1,900,000 for the Mid-American Geospatial Information Center based at the University of Texas at Austin, Center for Space Research.
4. The conferees direct $22,000,000 be used to continue the construction of the Propulsion Research Laboratory at the Marshall Space Flight Center, of which $13,000,000 is derived from the Office of Space Science in-space propulsion augmentation and $9,000,000 is derived from the Office of Aerospace Technology in-space propulsion program. The funds remaining in the Office of Space Science in-space propulsion program are to be used for advanced technology development for planetary exploration and shall be competed on the same basis as other advanced technology development programs.
5. An increase of $3,000,000 for the Sun-Earth Connections program for Solar Probe. NASA should consolidate management for this mission with its existing SEC/Living With a Star program in lieu of the proposed termination.
6. An increase of $10,000,000 for the Sun-Earth Connections program for Living With a Star (LWS) program for a total of $50,200,000 in fiscal year 2002. The conferees believe that understanding solar variability and its effect on earth and mankind is of paramount importance as we strive to understand our galaxy. Increasing our knowledge of the effects of solar variability and disturbances on terrestrial climate change and being able to provide advanced warning of energetic particle events that affect the safety of humans and space flight are also of particular importance. The proposed funding restoration will allow LWS to proceed on the original NASA plan of Sun-Earth connected System Science whereby both the Solar Dynamics Observatory and the Geospace Missions Network will proceed in a coordinated manner to attain the program objectives. All LWS and SEC program funds in 2002 should be used exclusively for relevant ATD, science support and spacecraft development activities. Any capital projects to support the program, apart from the standard de minimis facility renovations under $500,000 should be requested in subsequent years through the standard construction of facilities program element. This LWS funding augmentation is in addition to the $8,900,000 provided for future solar terrestrial probes as requested in the budget.
7. An increase of $3,000,000 for the Center on Life in Extreme Environments at Montana State University.
8. An increase of $1,000,000 for the development of advanced materials for batteries and fuel cells, to be conducted by Virginia Commonwealth University.
9. An increase of $30,000,000 for the Pluto Kuiper Belt (PKB) mission. The conferees direct NASA to proceed with its plan for source selection, but recognize the launch dates may be altered due to delays in the source selection process. Funds provided should be used to initiate appropriate spacecraft and science instrument development as well as launch vehicle procurement. The conferees direct NASA to consolidate PKB development funds within the Outer Planets line beginning in fiscal year 2003.
The conferees have provided the budget request of $92,100,000 for advanced technology development related to the Next Generation Space Telescope (NGST) and expect NASA to vigorously pursue the development of the NGST and submit an out-year budget plan, concurrent with the submission of the fiscal year 2003 budget, for soliciting development and management proposals with the goal of a launch in 2007. If technical and budgetary constraints preclude the
launch of NGST by 2007, the conferees wish to underscore their strong desire that there should be no gap between the end of the operations for the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and the onset of operations for NGST. As part of the out-year budget plan, NASA should outline its transition plan to guarantee uninterrupted continuity between HST and NGST.
The conferees agree to provide the full budget request for the Mars program. NASA is directed to prepare a detailed plan, to be submitted to the Committees on Appropriations of the House and Senate concurrently with the submission of the President’s fiscal year 2003 budget request, on future Mars missions beyond the proposed 2007 mission. The plan should have a detailed definition on the program’s content, five-year budget forecast, and schedule, and shall include a five-year profile to make significant advanced technology funding available to extramural partners.
Biological and Physical Research
The conferees have agreed to provide $714,370,000 for biological and physical research programs, an increase of $353,450,000 to the budget request.
The conferees have agreed to transfer a total of $283,600,000 from the Human Space Flight account into this program for research activities associated with the International Space Station. The conferees have not included a transfer from Human Space Flight of civil service and other costs associated with these activities and directs NASA to make such a transfer as part of the operating plan to the extent such a transfer is needed.
The conferees agree to the following changes to the budget request:
1. An increase of $338,600,000 for space station research consisting of a transfer of $283,600,000 from Human Space Flight, and an increase of $55,000,000 for the Fluids and Combustion Facility and other priority space station research and equipment.
2. An increase of $2,750,000 for the Space Radiation program at Loma Linda University Hospital.
3. An increase of $1,750,000 for Earth University to research Chagas disease.
4. An increase of $1,450,000 for the development of machine/bio-interface devices to provide advanced diagnosis and countermeasures at the University of Louisville.
5. An increase of $400,000 for the Center for Research and Training in gravitational biology at North Carolina State University.
6. An increase of $1,000,000 for the New Jersey NASA Specialized Center of Research and Training. The conferees commend the work of this organization and its application not only to long-duration space missions but its impact on the agricultural and environmental business sectors. The conferees encourage NASA to continue funding these vital efforts and recommends the agency create a technology development and demonstration center in New Jersey focusing on life support issues in closed environments.
7. An increase of $1,000,000 for high definition telemedicine technology development at Florida Atlantic University.
8. An increase of $1,000,000 for Southern Methodist University’s life sciences program.
9. An increase of $2,000,000 for multi-user scientific equipment for the Life Sciences Center at the University of Missouri-Columbia.
10. An increase of $1,500,000 to fund research at the University of Missouri’s Center for Gender Physiology in the area of gender-related issues in space flight crews.
11. An increase of $2,000,000 to fund research at the University of Missouri-Columbia in physical, biological, and biomedical areas which address NASA strategic objectives.
Earth Science
The conferees have agreed to provide $1,573,413,000 for earth science programs, an increase of $58,435,000 to the budget request.
The conferees agree to the following changes to the budget request:
1. An increase of $1,200,000 for the Advanced Tropical Remote Sensing Center of the National Center for Tropical Remote Sensing Applications and resources at the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science.
2. An increase of $428,000 for continuation of emerging research that applies remote sensing technologies to forest management practices at the State University of New York, College of Environmental Sciences and Forestry.
3. An increase of $1,425,000 for NASA’s Regional Application Center for the Northeast.
4. An increase of $812,000 for operations of the applications center for remote sensing at Fulton-Montgomery Community College, Johnston, New York.
5. An increase of $14,350,000 for the Institute of Software Research for development and construction of research facilities.
6. An increase of $750,000 for on-going activities at the Goddard Institute for Systems, Software, and Technology Research, including UAV and remote sensing technology research.
7. An increase of $750,000 for the Clustering and Advanced Visual Environments initiative.
8. An increase of $4,750,000 for data storage back-up and recovery services at the Goddard Space Flight Center.
9. An increase of $1,000,000 for the Triana Science Team to continue its work in preparation for future launch. The conferees recognize that the Triana mission, as reviewed and endorsed by the National Academy of Sciences, is complete and ready for launch. However, due to Shuttle manifest conflicts, Triana has been placed in storage until launch accommodations can be established. The conferees understand that NASA is exploring all launch possibilities for the Triana spacecraft, including potential options involving foreign launch vehicles. The conferees recognize the important scientific contributions to be made by Triana and, if NASA were to identify a suitable launch opportunity for Triana, the conferees would be receptive to NASA’s reprogramming resources within available fiscal year 2002 Earth Science funding toward the costs of necessary spacecraft modification and launch integration efforts to accomplish such a launch.
10. An increase of $750,000 for next generation sensing equipment, to be operated by Ben Gurion University for use in correlating measurements taken by aircraft and satellites in support of programs under the auspices of the Goddard Space Flight Center.
11. An increase of $3,000,000 from the NASA Earth Science Enterprise to be transferred to the Air Force Research Laboratory (PE 602204F Aerospace Sensors) to develop dual-use lightweight space radar technology. The conferees expect the Air Force to work closely with NASA to identify mutually beneficial technologies.
12. An increase of $1,425,000 for the United States portion of a joint U.S./Italian satellite development program to remotely observe forest fires.
13. An increase of $23,500,000 for the Synergy program to develop additional end uses for EOS data.
14. An increase of $6,000,000 for the EOSDIS Core System to expand its data processing and distribution capacity.
15. An increase of $2,000,000 for weather and ocean research at the University of Alaska and the University of Massachusetts.
16. An increase of $3,500,000 for the University of Montana for an International Earth Observing System Natural Resource Training and Data Center.
17. An increase of $500,000 for the Morehead State University Space Science Center for the reconstruction of the ADAS satellite tracking system.
18. An increase of $2,000,000 for the University of Mississippi Geoinformatics Center.
19. An increase of $1,500,000 for George Mason University Center for Earth Observing and Space Research.
20. An increase of $3,000,000 for the University of South Mississippi for research into remotely sensed data for coastal management.
21. An increase of $1,000,000 for the Mid-America Geospatial Information Center at the University of Texas.
22. An increase of $1,500,000 for Idaho State University for the Temporal Landscape Change Research program.
23. An increase of $500,000 for Utah State University to develop an Inter-mountain Region Digital Image Archive and Processing Center for Landscape Analysis, Planning and Monitoring.
24. A general reduction of $17,205,000.
The conferees expect NASA to continue to pursue options for commercial data purchase approaches on all Earth Science Enterprise program Announcements of Opportunity.
Aero-Space Technology
The conferees have agreed to provide $2,489,570,000 for aerospace programs, an increase of $113,830,000 to the budget request.
The conferees agree to the following changes to the budget request:
1. An increase of $10,000,000 for the Ultra Efficient Engine Technology for a total budget of $50,000,000 in fiscal year 2002.
2. An increase of $2,850,000 for the Earth Alert project at the Goddard Space Flight Center.
3. An increase of $2,375,000 for the NASA-Illinois Technology Commercialization Center at DuPage County Research Park.
4. An increase of $190,000 for the Rural Technology Transfer and Commercialization Center of Durant, Oklahoma.
5. An increase of $1,900,000 for the University of New Orleans Composites Research Center for Excellence at Michoud, Louisiana.
6. An increase of $522,000 for the fractional ownership test program.
7. An increase of $1,425,000 for the Glennan Microsystem Initiative.
8. An increase of $2,850,000 for the Polymer Energy Rechargeable System.
9. An increase of $475,000 for continued development of nickel metal hydride battery technology.
10. An increase of $1,900,000 for Wayne State University for its emerging technology and aerospace programs.
11. An increase of $950,000 for the University of Alabama, Huntsville, Aviation Safety Laboratory.
12. An increase of $950,000 to be used for continued development of an electric/diesel hybrid engine at Bowling Green University.
13. The following programs are to be funded within the Aviation System Capacity program: $4,200,000 for the HITS multilateration sensor and surveillance server for Airport Surface Detection and Management System, $1,200,000 for the development of the Dynamic Runway Occupancy Measurement System, $1,400,000 for development of a Runway Taxi Route Detection and Conformance Monitoring System, and $5,000,000 for Project SOCRATES.
14. An increase of $2,850,000 to expand the Space Alliance Technology Outreach Program, including NASA business incubators, in Florida and New York.
15. An increase of $950,000 for the Advanced Interactive Discovery Environment engineering research program at Syracuse University.
16. An increase of $7,600,000 for the National Center of Excellence in Photonics and Microsystems in New York.
17. An increase of $2,375,000 for the Virtual Collaboration Center at the North Carolina GigaPop.
18. An increase of $1,900,000 for the Garrett Morgan Commercialization Initiative in Ohio.
19. An increase of $750,000 for research at Marshall Space Flight Center in the area of interstellar propulsion.
20. An increase of $1,693,000 for the Dryden Flight Research Center Intelligent Flight Control System research project.
21. An increase of $950,000 for development of advanced composite materials for a super lightweight prototype structure and a generic carrier for the space shuttle orbiter.
22. An increase of $8,125,000 for hydrogen research being conducted by the Florida State University System.
23. An increase of $4,750,000 for space biotechnology research and commercial applications to be conducted at the University of Florida.
24. An increase of $2,000,000 from the NASA Space Launch Initiative be transferred to the Air Force Research Laboratory (PE 602204F Aerospace Sensors) to install a baseline Silent Sentry System at Kennedy Space Center and for AFRL to conduct an evaluation of the ability for Silent Sentry to replace current range safety infrastructure.
25. An increase of $2,000,000 for the National Technology Transfer Center.
26. An increase of $500,000 for aerospace projects being accomplished by the Montana Aerospace Development Corporation.
27. An increase of $7,500,000 for subsonic transport technology research.
28. An increase of $7,500,000 for the advanced aircraft program, equally divided between flight research and propulsion and power research.
29. An increase of $12,500,000 for NASA’s rotocraft program, including funding for the NASA-Army university centers component.
30. An increase of $2,500,000 for the Hubble Telescope Project, Composite Technology Institute at Bridgeport, West Virginia.
31. An increase of $15,000,000 for aviation safety. The conferees agree that NASA should evaluate the use of retinal scanning displays in the Synthetic Visual Project, which seeks to improve general aviation safety through incorporation of new technologies.
32. An increase of $2,000,000 for a study of NASA’s aeronautical test and evaluation facilities.
33. An increase of $2,000,000 for advanced research in opto-electronics at Montana State University.
34. An increase of $2,500,000 for the Delaware Aerospace Education Foundation in Kent County, Delaware.
35. An increase of $1,500,000 for Tulane University Institute for Macromolecular Engineering and Sciences, New Orleans, Louisiana.
36. An increase of $6,500,000 for the Stennis Space Center E-complex propulsion test facilities, of which $1,500,000 is for completion of the Test Operations Building.
37. An increase of $3,500,000 for an addition to the main administration building at the Stennis Space Center. NASA is directed to work with the Department of Defense to ensure that the Department contributes to the construction of facilities unique to its requirements.
38. An increase of $1,700,000 for the Independent Verification and Validation Facility in Fairmont, West Virginia.
39. An increase of $2,000,000 for non-destructive evaluation research at Iowa State University.
40. An increase of $1,000,000 for polymer research at Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana.
41. An increase of $2,000,000 for photonics research at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
42. An increase of $3,000,000 for nanotechnology programs at Purdue University.
43. An increase of $3,000,000 for the purchase of two upgraded jet engines which require limited configuration changes to the DP-2 vectored thrust testbed aircraft. The remaining funds shall be expended as appropriate for airflow analysis research, flight control research, and flight testing. NASA is directed to provide a long-range research and development plan for the DP-2 vectored thrust program to the Congress by April 15, 2002.
44. An increase of $1,500,000 for a visitor’s center at Langley Flight Research Center.
45. The conferees agree that NASA needs to increase its investment in facilities at the Wallops Island Flight facility and therefore direct NASA to spend an additional $10,000,000 from within existing funds for infrastructure improvement and technology upgrades to ensure the Wallops facility remains a viable asset for NASA’s use and report to the Committees on Appropriations of the House and Senate no later than March 1, 2002 on a strategic plan for Wallops future including NASA missions and other business opportunities.
46. A decrease of $6,200,000 from the Aviation System Capacity program. The goal of the Aviation System Capacity (ASC) program is to enable safe increases in the capacity of US and international airspace and airports. The conferees believe that Aviation System Technology Advanced Research (AvSTAR) will help develop new operational concepts and better understand the benefits of new technologies for reducing aviation system congestion and delays while improving safety. The conferees support the request for Virtual Airspace Modeling as a precursor to AvSTAR.
47. A decrease of $10,000,000 from the Space Launch Initiative.
48. A decrease of $10,000,000 from the in-space propulsion program.
Academic Programs
Within the Academic programs portion of this account, the conferees recommend a total funding level of $230,810,000, a net increase of $77,110,000 to the budget request. The conferees agree that Lincoln and Cheney Universities in Pennsylvania should be full participants in NASA’s Minority University Research and Education Program. The Conferees recommend the following adjustments to the budget request:
1. An increase of $475,000 for the Richland School District One Aeronautics Education Laboratory, located in Columbia, South Carolina.
2. An increase of $475,000 for the NASA Educator Resource Center at South East Missouri State University.
3. An increase of $950,000 for the Carl Sagan Discovery Science Center at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore Medical Center to implement the educational programming for this science learning project.
4. An increase of $2,375,000 for the JASON Foundation.
5. An increase of $3,500,000 for continuation of programs at the American Museum of Natural History.
6. An increase of $950,000 for the Sci-Port Discovery Center at Shreveport, Louisiana.
7. An increase of $1,900,000 for the NASA Glenn `Gateway to the Future: Ohio Pilot’ project.
8. An increase of $475,000 for the Challenger Learning Center of Kansas.
9. An increase of $475,000 for Challenger Learning Centers in Illinois.
10. An increase of $475,000 for the Challenger Learning Center at Wheeling Jesuit University.
11. An increase of $1,900,000 for the Alan B. Shepard Discovery Center in New Hampshire.
12. An increase of $3,000,000 to the U.S. Space and Rocket Center for an Educational Training Center.
13. An increase of $570,000 for academic and infrastructure needs at St. Thomas University in Miami, Florida.
14. An increase of $950,000 for the Ohio View Consortium.
15. An increase of $1,900,000 for the Von Braun Scholarship program.
16. An increase of $3,000,000 for the Alabama Math, Science, and Technology initiative.
17. An increase of $2,925,000 for the Sci-Quest Hands-on Science Center.
18. An increase of $1,650,000 for the Alabama Supercomputer Educational Outreach program.
19. An increase of $1,900,000 to the Educational Advancement Alliance to support the Alliance’s math, science, and technology enrichment program.
20. An increase of $5,000,000 for the National Space Grant College and Fellowship program.
21. An increase of $475,000 for the Science, Engineering, Math and Aerospace Academy programs at Central Arizona College.
22. An increase of $340,000 to enhance K-12 science education through a program of the Middle Tennessee State University.
23. An increase of $5,400,000 for the EPSCoR program.
24. An increase of $5,000,000 for a planetarium at the Clay Center of Arts and Sciences in Charleston, West Virginia.
25. An increase of $2,000,000 for the Northern Great Plains Space Science and Technology Center at the University of North Dakota.
26. An increase of $1,500,000 for flight communications technology at the University of Connecticut.
27. An increase $1,500,000 for the Science Discovery Outreach Center at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
28. An increase of $1,000,000 for the Chabot Observatory and Science Center in Oakland, California.
29. An increase of $750,000 for the Des Moines Science Center in Des Moines, Iowa.
30. An increase of $4,000,000 for infrastructure needs at Mauna Kea Astronomy Education Center at the University of Hawaii, Hilo.
31. An increase of $1,000,000 for the NASA/Bishop Museum partnership in Honolulu, Hawaii.
32. An increase of $1,500,000 for the Wisconsin Initiative for Math, Science, and Technology education at the University of Wisconsin, Green Bay.
33. An increase of $250,000 for St. Mary’s County Public School Technology Center, St. Mary’s County, Maryland.
34. An increase of $3,000,000 for construction of a life sciences facility at Brown University.
35. An increase of $2,000,000 for instrumentation and laboratory development at Rowan University in New Jersey.
36. An increase of $5,000,000 for infrastructure improvements at the School of Science and Mathematics at the College of Charleston in South Carolina.
37. An increase of $1,500,000 for Muhlenberg College in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania to develop a national model for using NASA data and technologies in the k-12 and higher education classroom.
38. An increase of $750,000 for the Texas Engineering Experiment Center at Texas A&M University to support the Space Engineering Institute.
39. An increase of $3,000,000 for the Challenger Learning Center in Kenai, Alaska for the final phase of dormitory construction.
40. An increase of $500,000 for the Southeast Missouri State University NASA Educator Resource Center.
41. An increase of $1,000,000 for a Challenger Learning Center in Ferguson/Florissant, Missouri.
42. An increase of $800,000 for the Science, Engineering, Math and Aerospace Academy programs in Dade County, Florida.
OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL
The conferees agree to appropriate $23,700,000 for the Office of Inspector General as proposed by both the House and the Senate.
ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS
The conferees have included three administrative provisions which have been carried in prior-year appropriations acts and were included by both the House and the Senate. A fourth provision, prohibiting establishment of a non-governmental organization for the International Space Station as proposed by the House, has been included in the conference agreement. The conferees look forward to receiving a comprehensive proposal for managing the ISS science program at which time it will re-evaluate the foregoing prohibition.
