The Commerce, Justice, and Science (CJS) subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee approved a fiscal year 2014 budget of NASA worth $16.6 billion on Wednesday with few conditions.
The members suggested the agency to cut their funding for its Planetary Science program and Space Launch System (SLS) reasoning that the rockets funded by the SLS are too costly consuming about $30 billion of the agency’s budget and is being launched only once every four years. They also consider the launch as risky for its passengers as well.
The House also ordered NASA to set new goals for this year including funding of the Joint Polar Satellite System and the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite programs. The budget allotments for these programs are at $824 million and $955 million respectively which will benefit the NOAA’s satellite programs as well. These programs are the top priorities of NASA and should receive full support from the agency by order of the House.
Among other things that would be included and excluded in the funding as detailed by the Las Vegas Guardian Express are the following:
Discontinuance of the SLS heavy-lift rocket and the Orion multi-purpose crew vehicle which will redirect an asteroid away from the lunar orbit and will be visited by astronauts in 2020. However, it will still receive a $1.8 billion fund which will be detailed as soon as the house is able to finalize how much will be spent on rocket development, ground infrastructure, and program support.
A 30 percent cut on the Earth Science Division fund which is now down to $1.2 billion. The 30 percent will be reallocated to the Planetary Science Division to support its robotic solar system mission for a total of $1.5 billion which is $300 million higher than its previous allotment.
Meanwhile, the Commercial Crew Program will receive $700 million in order for them to purchase a crew transportation vehicle which will send astronauts to space in 2017.
The budget is still subject for approval of the Senate. There may be further revisions to be made for sure; knowing that NASA and the Obama administration has a different proposal on the cuts to be made in its Planetary Science Division.
