The House Appropriations Committee today released the fiscal year 2012 Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations bill, which funds the Department of Commerce and Justice, as well as National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the National Science Foundation. The bill begins subcommittee debate this week.
More on space: Gigantic changes keep space technology hot
NASA's part in that bill sits at $16.8 billion, $1.6 billion below last year's level and $1.9 billion below the President's request. No matter what happens with this version of the bill though it would have to jive with the Senate's eventually but the line now is drawn.
According to the committee's statement, this funding includes:
- $3.65 billion for Space Exploration which is $152 million below last year. This includes funding above the request for NASA to meet Congressionally mandated program deadlines for the newly authorized crew vehicle and launch system.
- $4.1 billion for Space Operations which is $1.4 billion below last year's level. The legislation will continue the closeout of the Space Shuttle program for a savings of $1 billion.
- $4.5 billion for NASA Science programs, which is $431 million below last year's level. The bill also terminates funding for the James Webb Space Telescope, which is billions of dollars over budget and plagued by poor management, the committee stated.
The $6.5 billion Webb telescope is the successor to the successful Hubble. According to NASA the Webb telescope would be the most sensitive infrared space telescope ever built. It is designed to see the farthest galaxies in the universe and the light of the first stars; study young planetary systems; and look for conditions suitable for life on planets around other stars. The telescope features a large mirror, a little over 21-feet in diameter and a sunshield the size of a tennis court. The system would reside in an orbit about 1 million miles from the Earth.
The project has been plagued by design issues and funding problems and its future seems more threatened now than ever before.
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