WASHINGTON, 22 June 2008. Members of the U.S. House of Representatives in Congress voted last week to boost research and development spending for space programs of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
The House, in approving a $20.2 billion authorization bill for NASA space agency funding, voted to increase NASA allocations by $2.9 billion over the Bush Administration's funding request. The Senate is to vote on its version of NASA's funding authorization later this week. Appropriations bills under consideration in the House and Senate would fund NASA at about $17.8 billion.
The congressional authorization "is an important step forward for programs in two vital areas that affect our country," says Marion Blakey, president and chief executive officer of the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) in Arlington, Va. "The bill demonstrates continued bi-partisan support of the Next Generation Air Transportation System and our space exploration policy, both of which depend on a robust NASA budget."
The House plan includes an additional $1 billion to accelerate development of the Orion spacecraft and Ares 1 launch vehicle. The bill also would require NASA to fly two contingency space shuttle missions to the International Space Station (ISS), and add a mission to carry the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer experiment to the ISS.
"The additional funding is a substantial step forward to reduce the impending five-year gap in our ability to travel to space when the space shuttle retires in 2010," says the AIA's Blakey. "The House should be recognized for its leadership in taking action to reduce this gap."
NASA's NextGen-related research will help increase the safety, security and capacity of air transportation operations while protecting the environment, AIA officials say. NextGen improvements will be implemented over the next 10 years.
