Astronauts explore small asteroid in this illustration. Image Credit/Lockheed Martin
The House is poised to take up a 2010 NASA Authorization measure on Wednesday prior to adjourning for the November elections, U. S. Rep. Bart Gordon, chair of the House Science and Technology Committee, said Monday in a statement.
However, it will be the Senate version of a space agency roadmap for 2010, 2011 and 2012 that the House considers, rather than the amended version of a House authorization bill that Gordon unveiled last week.
Gordon’s amended measure, which had many similarities to the bill passed by the full Senate in August, drew swift opposition from some commercial space transportation advocates. It includes funding for the NASA sponsored development of commercial space taxis to carry astronauts and cargo to the International Space Station, but far less than the nearly $6 billion over five years proposed by President Obama as part of NASA’s 2011 budget.
In a statement released Monday, Gordon said he prefers to provide NASA, its workforce and contractors with the stability of the blueprint and funding guidelines of a “flawed” Senate bill rather than leave NASA adrift while facing the cancellation of its six-year-old Constellation back-to-the-moon program.
“It has become clear that there is no time remaining to pass a compromise bill through the House and the Senate,” Gordon said. “For the sake of providing certainty, stability, and clarity to the NASA workforce and larger space community, I felt it was better to consider a flawed bill than no bill at all as the new fiscal year begins,” Gordon said. “I will continue to advocate to the appropriators for the provisions in the compromise language.”
The new budget year starts Oct. 1.
The Senate and House measures agree on NASA’s top line spending for the next three years, $19 billion for 2011; $19.45 billon for 2012 and nearly $20 billion for 2013. The agency received $18.7 billion for 2010.
Both the compromise House and Senate measures direct NASA to develop a heavy lift rocket and multi-use crew vehicle by Dec. 31, 2016. While the primary mission purpose of the new rocket and spacecraft would be to transport explorers on voyages to the moon, the Lagrange points, near-Earth asteroids and Mars, the new rocket and crew capsule would also be cable of transporting astronauts and cargo to the International Space Station.
The White House prefers a much slower pace and would invest more than $7.8 billion in new technology investments before making commitments to specific rocket and spacecraft development programs.
The Senate version lacks a list of House provisions, including a NASA developed and operated human spacecraft as a back up to commercial versions. The House bill also outlines a lengthy list of requirements for the human rating and certification of commercial space taxi safety.
The Senate version includes a rather detailed prescription for the design of a heavy lift rocket that Gordon considers too restrictive.
The Senate bill also fails to identify a source of funding for an additional shuttle mission, “STS 135,” which would launch to the space station in June 2011 aboard Atlantis with supplies, according to Gordon.
Each version supports the White House backed extension of space station operations from 2016 until at least 2020.
While an authorization bill offers a far reaching blue print for NASA’s future, including recommended spending levels, it does not actually appropriate funding.
The president is free to sign the measure without including the specified funding in future budgets.