In a June 16 letter, the leaders of two advocacy groups, the National Space Society and The Planetary Society, asked House and Senate appropriators to reject the cut and fully fund NEO Surveyor.
The agency said the cut, which would delay the mission’s planned 2026 launch by at least two years, was needed to accommodate cost growth in other programs. NASA sought only $40 million for the mission in 2023, compared to $170 million previously projected for the mission in 2023. That includes NASA’s proposal to cut funding for the Near Earth Object (NEO) Surveyor mission, a space telescope to search for potentially hazardous asteroids. The lack of details in the bill means it is silent on some of the budget proposal’s more controversial provisions. That means the cut would be absorbed by other exploration programs, such as the lunar Gateway and Human Landing System. However, the bill specified funding for the Space Launch System, Orion and Exploration Ground Systems at or slightly above the request. The House bill provides $7.32 billion for deep space exploration systems, about $155 million below the administration’s request. NASA sought $227 million for OSAM-1 but only $15 million for nuclear propulsion. The bill, though, specifies $227 million be spent on a satellite servicing mission called OSAM-1 (formerly Restore-L) and $110 million for nuclear thermal propulsion. In space technology, the bill provides $1.25 billion for space technology, compared to the request of nearly $1.44 billion. The bill includes few details about funding for specific programs, details that are usually included in a separate report that will be released later in the appropriations process. NASA, for example, sought nearly $8 billion for science, but the House bill offers $7.9 billion. Sanders on Tuesday called for President Joe Biden to issue an executive order to cut off federal contracts to Amazon until the e-commerce company stops what he described as "illegal anti-union activity.The bill reduces funding increases across most major NASA budget accounts, including aeronautics, exploration, science, space operations and space technology. Senator Maria Cantwell has led calls for NASA to pick a second lunar lander to stimulate commercial competition and ensure the agency has a backup option in case SpaceX's lander, Starship, falls short. The SpaceX award sparked unsuccessful protests from Bezos' space company. NASA in 2021 picked a lander proposal from SpaceX over Blue Origin's lander proposal to build a spacecraft capable of putting a crew of astronauts on the moon's surface by roughly 2025. "I don't think it's an exaggeration to say this is a national emergency, it is threatening our national security, as well as our economic security,” Raimondo said.
The procedural step is needed before the House of Representatives and Senate can begin formal negotiations.Ī Senate Democratic aide said Democrats offered on Wednesday to hold 28 total votes on motions, including 19 from Republicans.Ĭommerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said at a Senate Commerce hearing Wednesday that it was urgent Congress pass funding for semiconductors.
Sanders' motion to lawmakers negotiating parts of the bill, which was seen by Reuters, may receive a vote among senators in the coming weeks. The funds for the NASA program would help fund an existing lander contract won by Elon Musk's SpaceX and could potentially go to additional companies other than Blue Origin, such as Northrop Grumman (NOC.N) or Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N) - top defense contractors that had partnered on Blue Origin's moon lander proposal in past programs but are now considering lodging their own, individual proposals for the new NASA program. Sanders, long critical of Bezos for what the senator has called "illegal anti-union activity" at Inc (AMZN.O), the technology and commerce giant founded and chaired by Bezos, has criticized the NASA funds as a "$10 billion bailout to Jeff Bezos to fuel his space hobby." A Blue Origin spokesman declined to comment. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Register
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