Wednesday’s CSExtra includes: The White House initiates a push to cut spending as the 2012 budget begins to take shape. Non-defense agencies are asked to propose a 5 percent spending cut based on the elimination of programs with the least value. Congress starts to put politics aside in a drive to reach a compromise with the White House over the cancellation of NASA’s Constellation Program. In Florida, a spotlight on the presidential task force attempting to address NASA’s job loss issue.
1. From Space News with a link to a Washington Post article, The White House budget office has asked federal agencies to a plan to cut their budgets by 5 percent by identifying programs that do the least to advance their missions or further the president’s agenda. The directive is part of preparations for a 2012 budget that freezes all non-defense discretionary spending. http://www.spacenews.com/commentaries/100608-fromwires-budget-clouds-horizon-nasa.html
A. From Spacepolitics.com, The base for the 5 percent reductions is the 2010 budget. The directive says the agency reductions cannot be across the board.
http://www.spacepolitics.com/2010/06/08/what-nasa-programs-could-be-vulnerable-to-a-budget-cut/
B. From Spacepolicyonline.com, The Department of Defense and Homeland Security are exempt. “NASA, NOAA and NSF are among the agencies that will have to comply. NASA was not subjected to the freeze in non-security discretionary spending the Obama Administration mandated for FY2011, so there is no way to know what this means for the agency, but the obvious question is whether that $6 billion increase projected in NASA’s FY2011 budget request will turn out to be just a mirage.”
http://www.spacepolicyonline.com/pages/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=953:white-house-tells-agencies-to-tighten-belts-further&catid=67:news&Itemid=27
C. From NASAWatch.com, A copy of the White House memo and comments from the space community. http://nasawatch.com/archives/2010/06/omb-what-are-na.html
2. From the Houston Chronicle, Congress works to find a compromise with the White House over the cancellation of NASA’s Constellation Program. The effort is joined by lawmakers from states not facing the same job losses as Florida and Texas, the Chronicle reports. One lawmaker suggests NASA could continue with both Ares 1 and commercial space transportation development. One expert says Congress has never attempted to have so much influence over the technical workings of an agency or department.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nb/clearlake/special/7043269.html
3. From Florida Today, the post-shuttle options for NASA’s Florida workforce include biomedical research and the development of a high speed rail line, according to a Presidential task force working on the issue. NASA Administrator Charles Bolden tell participants in a Washington meeting of the task force, , “We’ve got a workforce that does not want to flip hamburgers.”
http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20100609/BREAKINGNEWS/306090007/Task-force-considers-expanding-high-speed-rail-to-Titusville
A. From the Orlando Sentinel, a blog report on Tuesday’s task force meeting at the White House. The task force left the one hour meeting unsure how to spend $40 million in resources. The group is to finish its work by Aug. 15.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/space/2010/06/space-coast-task-force-gathers-at-white-house.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+news%2Fspace%2Fspace_blog+%28Space+Blog+The+Write+Stuff%29
4. From Florida Today, NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Director says the agency’s final shuttle mission is likely to slip into early 2011, a prospect recently mentioned by the agency’s shuttle and space station program managers. Two missions remain. If Atlantis is launched again, the last mission would likely slip into the early summer of 2011. In remarks to National Space Club Florida Committee, Cabanas says Kennedy future depends on a diversification of programs.
http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20100609/NEWS02/6090346/Last+shuttle+mission+will+likely+be+in+2011
5. From Spaceflightnow.com, The European Space Agency will come to grips with tighter budgets in 2011, 2012. http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n1006/08esaspending/
6. From the AP via The Washington Post, NASA to sponsor Arctic voyage for 40 scientists. Their focus will be on conditions that affect climate change.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/08/AR2010060804319.html
7. From Space.com, Homer Hickham Jr.’s Rocket Boys spreads wings as musical. http://www.exploredeepspace.com/entertainment/homer-hickam-rocket-boys-musical-100608.html
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