Posts Tagged ‘constellation program’
House NASA Bill Cuts Funding for Commercial Space, Could Undermine Senate-White House Compromise
Meanwhile, Boeing unveils new renderings of its own CST-100 capsule, contracted to ferry passengers and cargo to the ISS
A , which was posted publicly late yesterday, provides for a $19 billion topline NASA budget, as do the White House and the Senate. But how that money is to be spent couldn’t be more different. Essentially, the House committee sees the $9 billion already spent on the Constellation program as being irresponsibly wasted, and therefore claims NASA is obligated to see it through.
The draft bill reads: "In an environment of constrained budgets, responsible stewardship of taxpayer-provided resources makes it imperative that NASA's exploration program be carried out in a manner that builds on the investments made to date in the Orion, Ares 1 and heavy-lift projects.”
The House version also calls for a government-owned astronaut transport that can ferry crews and supplies to the ISS by the end of 2015, as well as a heavy lift launch vehicle by the end of the decade.
Of course, the bill has to allocate funds for these ambitious projects, and it plans to take those from the darlings of President Obama’s space agenda: commercial space companies. The Senate bill offered private sector space development $612 million in government funds next year to develop their technologies; the House wants to pare that back to $64 million.
Cutting private space investment to almost a tenth of what the Senate bill promised would frustrate not only the President, but the private space sector itself. SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket already has clients booked for and holds nearly $2 billion in future NASA contracts, so it's at least partially in NASA's interest to help the technology along.
And just yesterday Boeing unveiled designs for its own it is developing with Bigelow Aerospace under a NASA contract. Pulling money away from these kinds of projects now would set back private space technology development and by extension some of NASA's own goals.
Not to mention, a full emasculating of its space policy is not likely to please the White House. But before any legislation reaches Obama’s desk it will have to be reconciled between the House and Senate and then passed through each house’s appropriations committee to secure the funds. So with last week’s optimism that a deal had been reached behind us, it seems the debate over America’s future in space will remain in limbo for at least a few more months.
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Senate Bill Defies Obama’s NASA Plans, Restores Constellation and Adds Extra Shuttle Flight
The bill would continue plans to develop the Ares heavy-lift rocket and a program to build a spacecraft that could go beyond low-Earth orbit, the Times reports, quoting David Vitter, R-La., the ranking Republican on the Senate space subcommittee. It could also hamper the growth of the commercial space industry by requiring companies to demonstrate their abilities before they could get delivery contracts.
Like all politics, this is local -- the main architects of the pumped-up NASA plans hail from states where space-technology facilities are located. The bill is the result of negotiations among Sens. John D. Rockefeller, D-West Virginia; Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas; Bill Nelson, D-Fla., who flew on the shuttle; and Vitter, whose state is home to a Lockheed facility that manufactures the space shuttles' orange external tanks.
Under , announced in February, NASA would cancel its plans to go back to the moon and instead focus on developing new technologies. The agency would design plans to fly humans to an asteroid around 2025 and Mars 10 years later, and rely on private industry to fly astronauts and cargo to the International Space Station.
Many critics have said the plan leaves NASA bereft of vision, which has long driven the agency's greatest accomplishments. But there wasn't much love for the Constellation moon-return/Mars program, either.
After initially canceling it, Obama agreed to keep the Orion crew capsule as a possible escape module for the space station. But the Times reports the Senate bill would restore the program to developing a deep-space vehicle.
The Senate committee will take up the bill next Thursday, the Times says.
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NASA Introducing “Moonbase Alpha”, a 3-D Game Set on the Moon
A meteor strikes, damaging solar arrays and life support systems, and as you watch the billowing dust cloud move ominously toward your lunar camp, you have to restore critical systems and oxygen flow. Starting July 6, a new NASA video game will let you save the day, in 3-D.
NASA is releasing a multi-player game called , wherein players assume the role of a moon exploration team member living in a lunar settlement.
Gamers will have to get used to running with a moon-bounce loping gait while wearing a bulky moon suit -- atypical for first-person video game missions. You can play alone or with a team.
The game includes VOIP chat, text chat, and pretty cool 3-D graphics. It's only supposed to take about 20 minutes.
NASA's Learning Technologies division built the game to prove the space agency can make cool video games that will inspire kids. Ultimately, the game could be used in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education programs.
And if Congress decides to end NASA's moon-return program, this might be the only way to have a lunar adventure.