News NASA's Future: The News and Updates Thread

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SPACE.com: US Is Losing Race to Own the Moon, Entrepreneur Says

 

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SPACE.com: NASA's Future Depends on Commercial Space Success, Deputy Chief Says

 

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Florida Today - The Flame Trench: House panel questions commercial space market

SPACE.com: NASA Plan for Private Space Taxis Hasn't Won Over Lawmakers

 

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Parabolic Arc: Red State Mayors to Obama: Send Federal Funds Fast!

 

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Florida Today - The Flame Trench: Senate approves NASA budget cut:

By a 69 to 30 vote today, the U.S. Senate today approved legislation that would cut NASA's 2012 budget by $509 million, or 2.8 percent, to $17.9 billion.

The budget includes $500 million for development of commercial spacecraft and $3 billion for work on the giant Space Launch System rocket and Orion capsule for deep space exploration missions.

It also includes $500 million for the James Webb Space Telescope, targeting a 2018 launch of the hugely over-budget successor to the Hubble Space Telescope.

U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida said Monday during a visit to Kennedy Space Center that it was a "minor miracle" NASA's budget hadn't been cut more, and that the agency had fared well compared to many others.

The Senate bill must now be reconciled with a U.S. House version that proposes a deeper overal cut of $1.6 billion, to $16.8 billion. It includes only $312 million for commercial space vehicles and would kill the Webb project.

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[Urwumpe]

3 billion USD for the SLS!?!

What a waste of tax payers money.

 

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Parabolic Arc: Senate Passes NASA, FAA Spending Plans; Reconciliation With House Next

One month into the 2012 fiscal year, the Senate passed spending plans for NASA and the FAA’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation (AST). The bill includes $17.9 billion for NASA, including:

• $3 billion for the Space Launch System (SLS) and the Multipurpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV)
• $600 million for commercial crew
• $530 million for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).

It must now be reconciled with the House spending plan that includes $16.8 billion for the space agency, including:

• $3 billion for SLS and MPCV
• $312 million for commercial crew
• no funding for JWST.

The Obama Administration requested $18.7 billion for NASA, including

• $3 billion for SLS and MPCV
• $850 million for commercial crew
• $374 million for JWST.

Both the House and Senate rejected the Administration’s request to increase the AST budget from$15 million to $26.6 million. The House cuts the budget to $13 million while the Senate measure keeps the budget flat at $15 million.

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SPACE.com: NASA Acknowledges James Webb Telescope Costs Will Delay Other Science Missions

 

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Space News: Congress Poised To Approve $17.8B for NASA in Must-pass Minibus:

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According to a summary of the final conference report posted Nov. 14 on the House Appropriations Committee’s website, the $17.8 billion for NASA would break down as follows:

• $3.8 billion for Space Exploration, which is $30 million below the 2011 level. This includes funding above NASA’s request to meet congressionally mandated deadlines for the Space Launch System heavy-lift rocket and Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle.
  
  
• $4.2 billion for Space Operations, which is $1.3 billion below the 2011 level.
  
  
• $5.1 billion for Science programs, or about $155 million above the 2011 level. This includes additional funding for the overbudget James Webb Space Telescope program that will be offset by “commensurate reductions in other programs.”

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SPACE.com: Congress Poised to Approve $17.8 Billion for NASA in Must-Pass Bill

 

[anemazoso]

SpaceRef: Getting Our Priorities Straight: Setting the SLS Vs Propellant Depot Argument In a Greater Context

Dennis Wingo hits the nail on the head with the force of 1000 hammers on this one.

I would just add...

Why space? Most space related buisness cases hinge on the launch costs and launch cost are the single largest expense in space opps. so very simply put - If the gov purchases from the commercial sector with the boosters that are on the market for all human and robotic mission in every aspect of space then there will be a lot more launches of those rockets. More launches = launch costs go down, Costs going down closes more business cases which means even more launches, More launches = costs go down more, etc. etc.

Am I wrong?

 

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NASA:

• RELEASE : 11-383 - NASA Receives Clean Audit Opinion
• Budget Information

The Planetary Society Blog: NASA On Verge of Getting a Budget -- Congress Will Vote This Week

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Space Technology: The development of new technologies to make more ambitious space exploration possible took a big hit, and was cut nearly in half. Space Technology is funded at $575 million, about $500 million below the Administration's request. This is not good news, since without new technologies to tackle space, efforts to reach beyond low Earth orbit will be slowed.

Commercial Crew: This program is critical to closing the gap since the retirement of the Space Shuttle and is needed to meet our obligations to provide crew transportation services back/forth to the International Space Station. Unfortunately, the Commercial Crew program received only $406 million, about half what the Administration requested.

Space Launch System: The Big Rocket gets $60 million more than was asked for, for a total of $1.8 billion.

Multipurpose Crew Vehicle: Also known as Orion, this capsule that will eventually hold human explorers on missions beyond Earth orbit received $90 million more than requested, for a total of $1.2 billion.

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O.K. They didn't ask that much for SLS/MPCV. Where's the logic there?

 

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Florida Today - The Flame Trench: Bolden: Budget may push commercial flights to 2017

 

[Ark]

They didn't ask that much for SLS/MPCV. Where's the logic there?

Lockheed provides brag-worthy jobs and massive campaign contributions. They get everything they want, and some extra free money on top of it.

SpaceX gets cut because they're small. That's all there is to it, nothing but self-interest, corruption, and the military-industrial good ol' boys network.

 

[Urwumpe]

Also, it keeps the power and control over spaceflight in Washington and not in the hands of some irresponsible citizens.

 

[Urwumpe]

IEEE Spectrum: Scuttle NASA Now

 

[C3PO]

 

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Parabolic Arc: Super Committee’s Super #FAIL:

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“Despite our inability to bridge the committee’s significant differences, we end this process united in our belief that the nation’s fiscal crisis must be addressed and that we cannot leave it for the next generation to solve,” the panel’s two co-chairs, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Tex., said in a statement.​

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So, what does this mean? The failure will trigger $1 trillion dollars in “automatic” spending cuts beginning with the FY 2013 fiscal year that starts next Oct. 1. That could mean deep cuts in NASA and the Federal Aviation Administration, which are both key players in the emerging commercial space sector.

The combination of a shrinking budget and Congress’s preference for funding big ticket items such as the Space Launch System, Orion crew vehicle, and James Webb Space Telescope will squeeze funding for other NASA priorities such as the Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) program. CCDev, which received less than half of its funding request this year, could find itself without sufficient funding just as it needs to ramp up spending in order to field vehicles. And that will mean longer delays in flying a shuttle replacement and hundreds of millions of dollars being shipped over the Russia for transportation services.

I think I'll get one. :lol:

 

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Spaceflight Now: Will NASA retreat from Mars after string of successes?

 

[T.Neo]

It would be 'funny' if the US abandoned successful Mars science for a human "exploration" program that doesn't actually do much, if anything.

 

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Universe Today: Good and Bad News Come With NASA’s 2012 Budget

Discovery News: A Mixed Bag for NASA's 2012 Budget