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OMB Slashes NASA Budget By $600m
Washington, DC Nov. 27, 1997 - Washington, DC Nov. 27, 1997 - On the eve of the American Thanksgiving holiday, the U.S. space agency will have less to be "thankful" for next year, if the Clinton administration's Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has its way, Washington sources tell SpaceCast. OMB has reportedly rejected NASA requests for $13.2 billion in spending approval for FY99, and has slashed the space agency down to $12.6 billion. If the $600 million cut stands, look for major reductions in space science spending and research into reusable X rockets. Sources familiar with the budget talks within the administration say the International Space Station and Space Shuttle programs remain unscathed and are still NASA's top priorities. But the environmental monitoring program Mission To Planet Earth may see one or more of its platforms delayed. The MTPE observation spacecraft begin launching in the spring of next year. Eventually a network of spacecraft will be in earth orbit, dedicated to monitoring global climate changes and other weather phenomena. But the earth studies have been targets for attack by Congressional Republicans, who in theory would not be readily inclined to restore any trimmed funding. Even more controversial would be cuts to the X rocket research projects, the X-33 and X-34. Sources at NASA headquarters in Washington say that of the two projects, the X-33 is NASA's priority. A second group of 25 test flights of the X-34 hoped for in the FY99 budget most likely will be cut. Funding for the advanced space transportation program Future X will likely be delayed again for another year. Analysts say that the cuts would put even more pressure on NASA chief Daniel Goldin to approve proposals to fully commercialize the Space Shuttle fleet. Such a move could save the agency hundreds of millions in Shuttle operating costs, freeing up such funds for the programs now at risk for cuts. But critics warn that a commercial Shuttle would be a risky proposition, due to the large cuts in manpower that would be needed to bring operating costs lower and thus make the 17-year old Shuttles profitable. SpaceCast has learned from outgoing NASA Space Flight chief Will Trafton that a fully-formed Shuttle commercialization proposal has been drafted by Trafton's department and is now in review. The plan, details of which were not released, would allow a phased change of the Space Shuttle program into a totally commercial operation conducted by the USA consortium. Under the change, there would be no restrictions on the types of cargoes the Shuttles could carry. The fleet of four winged craft would offer astronaut-tended space platform operations and other commercial space business services by the year 2001, including launch and return of satellites and small laboratories. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links Space
Satellite Launch To Boost DTH In India
Calcutta, India (SPX) Dec 28, 2005The successful launch Thursday of India's heaviest satellite from spaceport of Kourou in French Guyana may have boosted the country's space research efforts to yet another level, but it has also lifted the spirits of at least three Direct-To-Home televisions broadcasters, one of which has been waiting for years to launch its services in India. |
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