Special Federal Budget Issue: NASA

The Administration's $16.47 billion FY 2005 budget request for NASA represents a 2.4 percent increase over the FY 2005 appropriation. Among highlights, the budget proposal maintains investments in next-generation Earth-observing satellites to support climate research efforts. It also continues support for Lunar, Mars, Earth Observations Systems and solar research, but cancels the Jupiter Icy Moon Orbiter program, promising to fund Project Prometheus to test a nuclear reactor in 2008 and fly a demonstration mission within a decade.

The budget request for the Science Mission Directorate is $5.48 billion, a modest decrease from its $5.53 billion in FY05. By contrast, Education programs are reduced by nearly 23 percent to $166.9 million. Funding for AeronauticsResearch is down 5.9 percent from FY05 to $852.3 million.

For the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate, the request is $3.17 billion -- an 18 percent increase. Included in this figure is $919.2 million, a 27 percent increase, to support exploration systems research and technology under NASA's Advanced Space Technology and Technology Maturation programs.

In NASA's new budget structure, the former Biological and Physical Sciences Directorate falls under the $806.5 million Human Systems Research & Technology theme of the Exploration Systems directorate. In its brief summary of the NASA budget, the Association of American Universities (AAU) notes NASA indicates it will use the International Space Station and continue ground-based research in improving human tolerance of the space environment.

The request for the Innovation Partnerships Program within Exploration Systems is $34.9 million higher than the FY05 figure for an FY06 total of $223.2 million. The line item includes NASA's technology transfer efforts, theSBIR/STTR programs, space product development, and the University Research, Engineering and Technology Institutes. The phrase Regional Partnership Centers replaces former discussion of the Regional Technology Transfer Centers. Goals for the year include centralizing "external contractor network for management of NASA technology transfer projects at NASA headquarters."

The FY06 budget proposal also includes $1.86 billion for the Space Station, maintaining that the return-to-flight of the Space Shuttle fleet is its top priority. This level of funding will enable NASA to meet obligations to international partners. NASA also will proceed with plans to retire the Shuttle in 2010, providing $753 million for development of a "crew exploration vehicle" by 2014.