NASA could get billion-dollar boost in funding
Spending bill must pass Congress by today to avoid shutdown
NASA would get a billion-dollar boost in its budget in the newest federal spending bill, on which Congress is expected to vote this week.
The bill would increase total NASA funding to $20.73 billion, up from $19.65 billion in the same bill for the 2017 fiscal year. The amount Congress is seeking is more than $1 billion above President Donald Trump’s 2018 NASA budget request amount of $19.09 billion.
It would also double funding for Kennedy Space Center’s launch systems and facilities to $895 million, up from $429 million. Those improvements are needed if talk of launching people in rockets to the Moon or to Mars is ever to be realized, whether that’s on NASA’s planned Space Launch System, on a SpaceX rocket or other privately owned vehicles.
Those numbers were provided Thursday by Sen. Bill Nelson, DFla., who was involved in requesting the new funds and said the inclusion of more funding in the federal omnibus build was “fantastic news.”
The money was included in a $1.3 trillion omnibus spending bill, which funds the government through Sept. 30. The bill must pass Congress by today to avert another government shutdown this year, according to Nelson’s announcement.
“Not only could it create hundreds of jobs at the center, but it will also enable us to begin work on a second mobile launch structure. Bottom line, this money will get us down the path to Mars sooner and safer,” Nelson said.
Nelson also highlighted $121 million in the bill aimed at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to buy a reliable backup for its aging hurricane hunter jet. During the past two years, the jet NOAA uses to measure storms was grounded during hurricane season because of maintenance issues.
Vice President Mike Pence visited KSC recently and talked about the need for the government and commercial space industry to cooperate more.
Pence officially appointed a
29-member user advisory group, one that includes astronauts, former government officials and top executives of some of the industry’s largest companies, including Lockheed Martin, Boeing and SpaceX.
Launch companies, such as SpaceX and Blue Origin, have been ramping up their presence on the Space Coast. SpaceX’s demonstration launch of the Falcon Heavy rocket in February brought the largest crown of launch spectators the area has seen since the space shuttle program ended in 2011.
In 2017, Kennedy Space Center hosted its first launch since 2011, with private company SpaceX refurbishing Launch Complex 39A, which had hosted the Apollo 11 mission that sent Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to the Moon in 1969.
On July 11, 2011, the 135th and final mission of the U.S. space shuttle program launched from there, sending astronauts Chris Ferguson, Doug Hurley, Sandra Magnus and Rex Walheim to the International Space Station.
The rebirth of 39A was a symbolic moment.
“It brings about a new era in space,” Space Florida President and CEO Frank DiBello said at the time. “It’s not just giving that facility a new role. It’s adding significant capability to the Cape as a whole and, in particular, it allows them to dramatically increase their launch cadence.”