News NASA's Future: The News and Updates Thread

SPACE.com: How NASA Could Get Its Spaceflight Groove Back:
NASA's better days can appear long past to the public. The U.S. space agency that once landed a man on the moon now wrestles with questions of existential crisis after retiring its space shuttle fleet this year. But it may still have enough leftover mojo to boldly set new goals to go where no man has gone before — if it can shake off its instinct to always look for guidance from the president and Congress.

A chance exists for NASA to declare a new vision for space exploration, said Jeff Leitner, founder and dean of Insight Labs. His nonprofit group wants to help the space agency control its destiny based on the authority of its "smartest, badass scientists" and spaceflight achievements, rather than acting as a political football for lawmakers while waiting for someone to decide its next mission.

"If they were in Silicon Valley, we'd be worshiping them," said Jeff Leitner, founder and dean of Insight Labs. "But they're NASA, so we're cutting their budget."

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SPACE.com: NASA Chief Downplays Threat of 'Sequestration' Budget Cuts:
WASHINGTON — The head of NASA downplayed the looming threat of mandatory federal spending cuts and said the U.S. space agency's budgeting plans do not account for the possibility that its top line could be sharply reduced in years when NASA will be scrambling to fund major science and exploration programs.

"We are not planning for sequestration, we are not budgeting for sequestration," NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said here Dec. 5 at a lunch hosted by the Space Transportation Association, an advocacy group based in University Park, Md. "I don't talk about sequestration because I don't think it's going to happen."

Sequestration refers to the nearly $1 trillion in spending cuts that would take effect starting in 2013. The cuts were triggered by the failure of a bipartisan panel of House and Senate lawmakers to reach agreement last month on a plan for reducing the federal deficit by $1.5 trillion over 10 years.

The Congressional Budget Office estimated in September that cuts to non-defense discretionary spending, the category which includes NASA, would amount to 7.8 percent in 2013.

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SPACE.com: Launch Costs Could Put Damper on NASA Earth Science Missions

Space News: Launch Costs Could Put a Damper on NASA Earth Science Missions:
SAN FRANCISCO — NASA’s Earth Science Division will be able to launch two missions per year under its current budget outlook if the agency can find reliable, affordable rides into orbit for those spacecraft, said Michael Freilich, the division’s director.

But Freilich acknowledged that is a big if, explaining that rising launch costs make “one or two” missions a year more likely.

In light of recent launch failures, NASA Earth science officials are “carving money out of our budget for more expensive but hopefully more reliable launch vehicles,” Freilich said Dec. 6 during a meeting of the American Geophysical Union here. Those decisions will lead to delays in some currently scheduled missions and reductions in funding for activities within the division that are not related to particular missions. Freilich added, however, that NASA officials are striving to protect nonflight programs from the brunt of the cuts.

Two Earth science missions, NASA’s Orbiting Carbon Observatory and the joint U.S.-Argentine Glory climate monitoring satellite, were destroyed as a result of launch failures in February 2009 and March 2011, respectively. In light of those losses, NASA’s Launch Services Program is “working hard with our industry partners to find suitable launch vehicles,” Freilich said.

The issue of launch vehicles came up repeatedly during the annual Earth Science Town Hall meeting in which Freilich laid out the division’s plans. “The nation has two competing worthy objectives,” he explained. Both President Barack Obama’s administration and Congress have shown support for a vigorous, space-based Earth observation program. At the same time, the National Space Policy unveiled in June 2010 calls for support of a vigorous, domestic expendable launch vehicle program.

NASA’s Earth Science Division “is at the nexus of those competing desires” because program managers may have to pay more for U.S. launch vehicles than for foreign rockets. As a result, the Earth Science Division may have less money for its programs. There is a “conflict in national policies,” Freilich said.

That conflict also is making it difficult for NASA to take advantage of opportunities to send Earth science instruments into space as hosted payloads on commercial communications satellites, said Berrien Moore, co-chairman of the National Research Council panel that created the first Earth science decadal survey, a 10-year plan for space-based Earth observation released in 2009.

Several researchers including Moore hoped to propose instruments designed to fly as hosted payloads on commercial geostationary satellites as part of NASA’s Earth Venture-2 competition for science-driven missions that can be launched within five years and completed for $150 million or less. When the NASA Earth Venture-2 Announcement of Opportunity released in September included a requirement for teams to vouch that their missions would fly on U.S. launch vehicles, the scientists had to revise proposals. “When you require a private sector company to make a commitment today to use an American launch vehicle in 2017, that’s a nonstarter,” said Moore, dean of the College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences at the University of Oklahoma. “It seems like on some ventures, we ought to get a little flexibility.”

Freilich said NASA officials tried “very, very hard” to provide that flexibility in the Earth Venture-2 program but were not successful because the requirement to send U.S. government satellites into orbit on domestic launch vehicles is reflected in national policy and U.S. law.

Nevertheless, NASA officials will continue looking for ways to send Earth observation instruments into geostationary orbit as hosted payloads on commercial satellites. To do that, they will have to clear two hurdles: the National Space Policy and the desire of scientists to obtain data in low Earth orbit. “For a lot of what we do, [geostationary orbit] is not the optimal location,” Freilich said. Still, geostationary orbit is likely to provide an affordable way to fly instruments capable of capturing some of the data scientists seek. With current budget constraints, that may be better than no mission at all, he added.

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"carving money out of our budget for more expensive but hopefully more reliable launch vehicles"
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"working hard with our industry partners to find suitable launch vehicles"
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Big ouch to Orbital Sciences. :uhh:
 
Space News: NASA Faces Further Cuts in Last-minute Spending Package:
WASHINGTON — NASA stands to lose an additional $325 million under the omnibus spending package headed to the U.S. Senate for a final vote.

A disaster relief bill the House approved Dec. 16 along with the 2012 Final Consolidated Appropriations Bill (H.R. 2055) includes a 1.83 percent across-the-board cut for all nondefense related discretionary spending, including NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and a number of other federal agencies previously funded in the so-called minibus spending bill Congress enacted in November. The across-the-board cut, or rescission, is crafted to pay for some $8 billion in disaster relief spending.

“The rescission does apply to us,” NASA spokesman Michael Cabbage said Dec. 16. “We estimate the cut would take us to around $17.4 billion.”

The minibus included $17.8 billion for NASA, or about $650 million less than the agency received for 2011.

The rescission would put NASA’s 2012 budget more than $1.2 billion below what the agency requested back in February when President Barack Obama submitted his spending plan to Congress.

NOAA, which stood to receive $4.9 billion from the minibus adopted in November, would get only $4.8 billion if the rescission becomes law.

The spending agreement the House and Senate reached Dec. 15 was necessary to avert a government shutdown. The federal government has been operating since the new fiscal year began Oct. 1 under a series of stopgap spending measures, the latest of which expires Dec. 16.

The House approved the $1 trillion omnibus package the afternoon of Dec. 16 by a vote of 296 to 121. The disaster relief funding and 1.83 percent rescission were approved as seperate measures.

The Senate was expected to take up the omnibus later that evening or the next day. It was not immediately clear whether the Senate would also approve the disaster relief package.

A summary of the conference report accompanying H.R. 2055 can be read here.
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The Planetary Society Blog: NASA and NOAA Hit Again by Across-the-Board Budget Cuts
 
Parabolic Arc: Obama Administration to Request Flat Budget for NASAhttp://www.parabolicarc.com/2012/02/10/administration-to-request-flat-budget-for-nasa/
$17.711 billion overall (down $89 million)

$3 billion for ISS
$2.8 billion for Space Launch System and Orion MPCV ($1.8 billion SLS/$1 billion Orion MPCV)
$830 million for commercial crew
$699 for space technology
$500 million for aeronautics
$300 [million] cut in planetary science to cover James Webb Space Telescope overruns
Withdrawal from European-led ExoMars program
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Personally, planetary science is very useful yet the shortsightedness of politics hurts how much science benefits humanity. At least CCDev is requested to get more (again), but the SLS is still sucking up funding and may be just another jobs program. Of course, we can't give NASA the budget it deserves.
 
Parabolic Arc:
  • First Look: Obama’s FY 2013 Budget Proposal for NASA:
    NASA Funding Highlights
    (FY 2013 Presidential Budget Proposal)
     ​
    • Provides $17.7 billion, a decrease of 0.3 percent, or $59 million, below the 2012 enacted level. While making difficult choices, the Budget builds on our existing space infrastructure, contin- ues efforts to streamline agency operations, and preserves innovative capabilities and tech- nologies to sustain American leadership in space.

    • Implements a lower cost program of robotic exploration of Mars that will advance science and will also help lay the foundation for future human exploration.

    • Invests in new space technologies, such as laser communications and zero-gravity propellant transfer, which can improve America’s ability to access and operate in space and enhance the competitiveness of the U.S. space industry.

    • Leverages a Federal investment of $830 million and private sector investment and ingenuity to develop a U.S. capability to transport crews into space, thereby eliminating our dependence on foreign capabilities in this area.

    • Provides continued robust funding for the development of a new heavy-lift rocket and crew capsule that will take America deeper into space than ever before, create American jobs, ensure continued U.S. leadership in space exploration, and inspire people around the world.

    • Provides $1.8 billion for research and a robust fleet of Earth observation spacecraft to strengthen U.S. leadership in the field, better understand climate change, improve future disaster predictions, and provide vital environmental data to Federal, State, and local policymakers.

    • Funds the highest priority astronomical observatories and robotic solar system explorers, including a successor to the Hubble telescope and a mission to return samples from an asteroid, while delaying unaffordable new missions.

    • Continues the effort to turn NASA’s former Space Shuttle launch facilities at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida into a 21st Century launch complex so that they can efficiently support programs like the Space Launch System and commercial operators.

    • Streamlines agency operations, resulting in over $200 million in savings.

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  • NASA’s FY 2013 Budget: There’s a Video for That

SPACE.com:
 
NASA:
RELEASE : 12-051
NASA Reaches Higher With Fiscal Year 2013 Budget Request

Feb. 13, 2012

WASHINGTON -- NASA announced Monday a $17.7 billion budget request for fiscal year 2013 supporting an ambitious program of space exploration that will build on new technologies and proven capabilities to expand America's reach into the solar system.

Despite a constrained fiscal environment, the NASA FY13 budget continues to implement the space science and exploration program agreed to by President Obama and a bipartisan majority in Congress, laying the foundation for ground-breaking discoveries here on Earth and in deep space, including new destinations, such as an asteroid and Mars by 2035.

"This budget in-sources jobs, creates capabilities here at home -- and strengthens our workforce, all while opening the next great chapter in American exploration," NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said. "And as we reach for new heights in space, we're creating new jobs right here on Earth, helping to support an economy that's built to last."

The NASA budget includes $4 billion for space operations and $4 billion for exploration activities in the Human Exploration Operations mission directorate, including close-out of the Space Shuttle Program, and funding for the International Space Station, $4.9 billion for science, $669 million for space technology and $552 million for aeronautics research.

"This budget puts us on course to explore farther into space than ever before, revealing the unknown and fueling the nation's economy for years to come," Deputy Administrator Lori Garver said. "We are committed to ensuring that our astronauts are once again launched from U.S. soil on American-made spacecraft, and this budget provides the funds to make this a reality."

The budget supports NASA's continued work to develop the Space Launch System, a new heavy-lift rocket to carry astronauts to destinations such as an asteroid and Mars, and the Orion crew capsule in which they will travel. Included are resources for final preparation and manufacturing milestones for Orion's 2014 Exploration Flight Test 1 and preliminary design reviews of major Space Launch System elements.

NASA has prioritized funding for its partnership with the commercial space industry to facilitate crew and cargo transport to the station. The $830 million for this work in the FY13 budget advances progress towards a vibrant space industry that will create well-paying, high-tech jobs to the U.S. economy, and reduce America's reliance on foreign systems.

The budget also enhances use of the International Space Station to improve life on Earth and help make the next great leaps in scientific discovery and exploration.

NASA's science budget supports a balanced portfolio of innovative science missions that will reach farther into our solar system, reveal unknown aspects of our universe, and provide critical data about our home planet. The agency will continue to develop and conduct critical tests on the James Webb Space Telescope leading to its planned launch in 2018. As the successor to Hubble Space Telescope, James Webb again will revolutionize our understanding of the universe. NASA also is developing an integrated strategy to ensure the next steps for the robotic Mars Exploration Program will support science as well as long-term human exploration goals.

Space Technology work supported in the budget will drive advances in new high-payoff space technologies such as laser communications and zero-gravity propellant transfer, seeding innovation that will expand our capabilities in the skies and in space, supporting economic vitality, lowering the cost of other government and commercial space activities, and helping to create new jobs and expand opportunities for a skilled workforce.

NASA supports its commitment to enhancing aviation safety and airspace efficiency, and reducing the environmental impact of aviation by helping to accelerate the nation's transition to the Next Generation Air Transportation System through investments in revolutionary concepts for air vehicles and air traffic management.

"The 2013 budget moves us forward into tangible implementation of a sustainable and affordable exploration program," NASA's Chief Financial Officer Elizabeth Robinson said.

The NASA budget and supporting information are available at:


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Parabolic Arc: NASA Budget Table

FY2013_Budget.png


The Planetary Society:
PRESS STATEMENT
Science Pushed to the Brink
Proposed FY 2013 Budget Would Devastate Planetary Science in NASA
The Planetary Society’s Statement
On the Administration’s Proposal for the Science Mission Directorate​


The U.S. Administration is proposing a budget for Fiscal Year 2013 that would force NASA to walk away from planned missions to Mars, delay for decades any flagship missions to the outer planets, and radically slow the pace of scientific discovery, including the search for life on other worlds.

NASA’s planetary science program is being singled out for drastic cuts, with its budget dropping by 20 percent, from $1.5 billion this year to $1.2 billion next year. The steep reductions will continue for at least the next five years -- if the Administration’s proposal is not changed. This would strike at the heart of one of NASA’s most productive and successful programs over the past decade.

“The priorities reflected in this budget would take us down the wrong path,” said Bill Nye, CEO of the Planetary Society. “Science is the part of NASA that’s actually conducting interesting and scientifically important missions. Spacecraft sent to Mars, Saturn, Mercury, the Moon, comets, and asteroids have been making incredible discoveries, with more to come from recent launches to Jupiter, the Moon, and Mars. The country needs more of these robotic space exploration missions, not less.”

Fallout from the threatened budget cuts is forcing NASA to back out of international agreements with the European Space Agency (ESA) to partner in the Mars Trace Gas Orbiter, planned to launch in 2016, and threatens the ExoMars rover, set to launch in 2018. Without NASA to provide launches and critical equipment, Europe has turned to Russia to keep the missions alive by becoming its partner in the missions.

If Congress enacts the proposed budget, there will be no “flagship” missions of any kind, killing the tradition of great missions of exploration, such as Voyager and Cassini to the outer planets. NASA’s storied Mars program will be cut drastically, falling from $587 million for FY 2012 to $360 in FY 2013, and forcing missions to be cancelled. The search for life on other potentially habitable worlds -- such as Mars, Europa, Enceladus, or Titan -- will be effectively abandoned.

“People know that Mars and Europa are the two most important places to search in our solar system for evidence of other past or present life forms, said Jim Bell, Planetary Society President, “Why, then, are missions to do those searches being cut in this proposed budget? If enacted, this would represent a major backwards step in the exploration of our solar system.”

“I encourage whoever made this decision to ask around; everyone on Earth wants to know if there is life on other worlds,” Bill Nye, CEO of The Planetary Society, said. “When you cut NASA’s budget in this way, you’re losing sight of why we explore space in the first place.”

“There is no other country or agency that can do what NASA does—fly extraordinary flagship missions in deep space and land spacecraft on Mars.” Bill Nye said. “If this budget is allowed to stand, the United States will walk away from decades of greatness in space science and exploration. But it will lose more than that. The U.S. will lose expertise, capability, and talent. The nation will lose the ability to compete in one of the few areas in which it is still the undisputed number one.”

To solve the problem and put science back on track, The Planetary Society recommends that the budget be rebalanced among NASA’s directorates to reflect value to the nation, and that the share of NASA’s budget devoted to the Science Mission Directorate be increased to a minimum of 30 percent. This percentage would keep on track NASA’s world-class science with rigorously selected missions with clearly defined goals and carefully crafted plans that are ready to proceed.

NASA’s proposed top-line budget for FY 2013 is $17.7 billion, with Science at $4.9 billion (or about 27.5 percent). Increasing that share up to 30 percent would provide enough funding to keep scientific exploration healthy. Mars missions could be restored to the agency’s plans, and work on future flagship missions, such as Mars Sample Return or a Europa Orbiter, could move forward.

“How many government programs can you think of that consistently fill people with pride, awe, and wonder? NASA's planetary exploration program is one of the few, and so it seems particularly ironic and puzzling that it has been so specifically targeted for such drastic budget cuts,” Jim Bell commented.

“Now that the budget is out, The Planetary Society will mobilize its tens of thousands of members and supporters in the fight to restore science in NASA to its rightful place,” Jim Bell said. “We will work with Congress to advocate a balanced program of solar system exploration with exciting and compelling missions that are supported by the public—who ultimately are the ones paying for everything NASA does.”

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CBS News Space: NASA's 2013 budget cuts Mars missions, boosts manned space initiatives

Discovery News: NASA's 2013 Budget Sees Mars Mission Cuts

SPACE.com: Voices: Experts React to NASA's 2013 Budget Request

Universe Today: Tough Cuts for Planetary Science In NASA’s 2013 Budget Proposal

NASASaceflight: NASA outline FY13 Budget Proposal amid warnings of political battles to come
 
Why'd they have to use that ugly Blue Marble 2012 picture? :p
 
Are there currently any plans of a lunar lander? As far as I remember, Project Constellation had that massive 50 metric ton moon lander that was canceled with all the other stuff.
So are there any plans for a moon lander or are we just building Orion and play Apollo 8 (Don't get me wrong, Apollo 8 is/must have been great, but NASA should be able to do more)?
And I don't think that NASA could build a lunar module in two years or less, they should begin now, especially with the current funding situation.
 
@ Matt Baker. This is the problem with the SLS and NASAs funding levels. NASA only has enough money to build SLS and Orion but not enough to build a lander. Also from what Ive read from the SLS ConOps is that they are leaning towards a "Gateway" space station at L1 and using a reusable luner lander from there. There seems to be a push for a smarter more sustained infrastructure instead of the old Apollo way when everything get thrown away. Building a reusable lander should be pretty straight forward because if you are just sending up a lander you dont have such tight weight constraits like an all up mission al la Apollo so it can be sturdy and built for postarity.
 
BREAKING - NASA is planning to host a test launch in 2014, via the use of an existing Shuttle Mobile Launch Platform, conducted by a vehicle which can’t be named at this time due to an embargo. From NSF.com.

Though I'm not sure - I feel confident in saying the rocket is ATK's Liberty Launch Vehicle.
spacepress-012312-003-617x416.jpg
 
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