In Today’s Deep Space Extra… Congress was formally presented with a detailed version of NASA’s budget request for 2022, $24.8 billion. New Zealand becomes the 11th nation to sign the Artemis Accords.

 

Human Space Exploration

NASA administrator unveils $24.8 billion 2022 budget request
Spaceflightnow.com (5/28): On Friday, the Biden Administration released the full fiscal year 2022 budget request. The total amount requested for NASA is $24.8 billion, about a $1.5 billion increase over fiscal year 2021. Human exploration programs received $6.9 billion, with the Space Launch System (SLS) being funded at $2.487 billion, the Orion spacecraft at $1.407 billion, and Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) at $590 million. The Gateway received $785 million, and the Human Landing System (HLS) received $1.195 billion, an increase of $345 million over last year’s request. The International Space Station (ISS) received $1.327.

Biden budget retains goal of putting astronauts back on the Moon by 2024
Spacepolicyonline.com (5/28): “The President’s budget request is a recognition that NASA’s missions contribute to the Administration’s larger goals for America– climate change, promoting equity, driving economic growth, STEM, research and development, all of which equal jobs,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson stressed as he unveiled the agency’s portion of the White House budget request for 2022. The $24.8 billion request includes the largest amount requested by the agency for its science agenda, $7.9 billion. The proposal requests $497.3 million for Lunar Discovery and Exploration, including $254 million for Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) and $107.2 million for the VIPER rover. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is funded at $175.4 million. Nelson said that while 2024 continues to be NASA’s goal for a return to the surface of the Moon with astronauts, the agency and the space community must be realistic in acknowledging the challenges involved, emphasizing again that “space is hard.”

New Zealand latest nation to sign space agreement with NASA
Associated Press (6/1): New Zealand announced Tuesday that it has become the 11th nation to sign NASA’s Artemis Accords, a set of guidelines for peacefully cooperating in the exploration of space beyond the Earth. The signing comes as New Zealand works to develop new rocket launch capabilities.

Space Station robotic arm hit by orbital debris in ‘lucky strike’ (video)
Space.com (5/31): During a routine inspection, the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) showed evidence of an orbital debris strike on the 58-foot-long robotic arm that has been a critical part of the International Space Station (ISS) since 2001. Spotted May 12, an evaluation suggests the impact to thermal insulation and structure will not affect long term operations of the arm, which is commanded by operators on the ground as well as astronauts aboard the ISS.

 

Other News  

Russia, China hope to secure partners for Moon base project
SpaceNews.com (5/31): More details are expected to emerge on the cooperative effort by Russia and China to establish a science base at the Moon with international partners during the Global Space Exploration Conference 2021 (GLEX 2021) planned for June 14-18 in St. Petersburg, Russia. The early phase would feature landers, rovers, and orbiters and progress toward long term human missions to the lunar south pole in the 2036 to 2045 time frame.

Tianzhou-2 docks with China’s space station module
SpaceNews.com (5/29): Launched last Friday, China’s Tianzhou-2 cargo capsule docked successfully with the first element of China’s new space station on Saturday, U.S. time, eight hours after lifting off atop a Long March 7 rocket with several tons of equipment and propellant. Eleven missions will be required to complete assembly of the Chinese space station. The first Chinese astronauts are scheduled to launch to the Tianhe space station in June for a three-month stay.

Mainer astronaut Chris Cassidy announces retirement from NASA, U.S. Navy
WCSH-TV of Portland Maine (5/28): Maine native, U.S. Navy officer and 17-year NASA veteran, Chris Cassidy has retired from NASA. Cassidy logged 378 days in space over three missions to the International Space Station (ISS), the most recent from April 9 through October 20, 2020. Cassidy also logged 10 spacewalks focused on the assembly and maintenance of the orbiting science lab.

 

Major Space Related Activities for the Week  

Major space related activities for the week of May 30 – June, 5, 2021
Spacepolicyonline.com (5/30): NASA Administrator Bill Nelson will provide a State of NASA address virtually on Wednesday at 3 p.m. EDT in a presentation that will be carried live on NASA TV and streamed on www.nasa.gov/nasalive. Nelson will be joined by top associate administrators following the remarks for a news briefing. Aboard the International Space Station (ISS), cosmonauts Oleg Novitsky and Pyotr Dubrov will conduct a spacewalk early Wednesday to help prepare the ISS’s Russian segment for arrival of the Nauka multipurpose science module later this summer. The next commercial resupply mission to the ISS is set to launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) on Thursday at 1:29 p.m. EDT, and dock with the ISS on Saturday at 5 a.m. EDT.