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FYI
The American Institute of Physics Bulletin of Science Policy News
Number 48: April 11, 2003

House Appropriators Consider NASA FY04 Request

A House VA/HUD Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on NASA's FY 2004
budget request demonstrated general support and good will for
Administrator Sean O'Keefe, the agency, and its $15.5 billion budget
request.  Chairman James Walsh (R-NY) indicated that the subcommittee
would probably only make "minor changes" to the request and was "
ready and willing" to work with NASA to ensure the agency had
adequate resources. 

As in other recent hearings on NASA, subcommittee members inquired
about the Columbia accident investigation, the impact of grounding
the shuttle fleet on the space station, and the value versus the
risks of manned space flight.  Discussion also revolved around the
development of an Orbital Space Plane to replace the shuttle fleet
for the purpose of crew transport, with members asking when it would
be available and whether its development could be accelerated.

Rep. Dave Weldon (R-FL) remarked that, in contrast to past years, the
space station budget was not the "main topic of discussion," and he
commended O'Keefe for getting its budget "under control."  O'Keefe
reported that, under the agency's move to full-cost budgeting, the
space station is now "resourced to the level necessary" to conduct
operations, and its budget has been confirmed by three separate cost
estimates.  The two-person crew that will be launched on Soyuz later
this month to replace the current three crew members would be
sufficient, he said, to sustain the station "without compromise to
[its] integrity."  Although it is too early to predict the results of
the Columbia investigation, he stated that if the investigation board
finds "no showstoppers on the hardware end," his goal would be to
have the shuttles return to flight by the end of this year.  He
estimated that this would result in no more than a nine-month delay
in finishing assembly of the station's core configuration, which is
currently about two-thirds complete. 

O'Keefe has indicated several times in recent hearings that he
expects construction to continue on the space station for several
years beyond U.S. core complete.  He noted that European and Japanese
modules, a centrifuge, and then possibly other U.S. modules would be
"ready for deployment" after the core configuration was reached, so
the station's research capacity could be expanded "as all of us had
dreamed."  Completion of the space station is not dependent upon the
Space Plane, which is currently expected to be operational by
approximately 2010, O'Keefe said.  He added that NASA is looking at
how to expedite its development. 

When asked about research results from human space flight, he
declined to cite a "litany" of spin-offs but, as in past hearings,
cited the role of space research in the development of a new heart
pump.  When questioned on the balance between manned and unmanned
missions, he again used the Hubble Space Telescope as an example in
which human involvement saved an unmanned research capability, and
said his challenge was to determine when a requirement for human
intervention is "imperative."  Without the ability to make
adjustments or repairs, O'Keefe said, NASA would have to "resign
ourselves to multiple missions," so that if one fails, another could
be launched. 

Asked by Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID) whether NASA should be seeking
major new challenges to "capture the imagination of the public,"
O'Keefe responded that there are "any number of destinations [but] no
consensus" on which to strive for.  "The stark reality," he added, is
that NASA does not have "the means or the wherewithal" to reach those
destinations.  His intent, he explained, is to develop enabling
technologies so that "we can get to the destination when a consensus
comes together."  The two budget initiatives that he chose to
highlight in his testimony would provide breakthrough enabling
capabilities and knowledge: "Project Prometheus" to develop nuclear
propulsion and power generation capabilities for spacecraft, and a
human research initiative to improve understanding of survival in
space.  This strategy is described in more detail in a Strategic Plan
released by NASA with its FY 2004 budget request.  To achieve NASA's
vision and mission, the plan states, "we build the tools that enable
revolutionary robotic and human missions.  Through scientific
research and strategic investments in transformational technologies,
we open new pathways toward missions that were impossible only a few
years ago."  The approximately 30-page plan can be accessed in pdf
format at www.nasa.gov/pdf/1968main_strategi.pdf. 

A much-discussed related issue is whether NASA has the scientists,
engineers and technicians to take on new challenges.  Part of NASA's
charter, O'Keefe explained, is to help develop the nation's S&T
workforce. Many members praised NASA's renewed emphasis on education
as a way to encourage more American students to enter S&T fields.
O'Keefe thanked committee members for their support of a proposal to
give NASA increased authority for recruitment, hiring and retention,
which has been introduced as legislation by Rep. Sherwood Boehlert
(R-NY) and Sen. George Voinovich (R-OH).

As the hearing drew toward a close, Rep. Joe Knollenberg (R-MI)
referred to recent research into dark energy.  While commenting that
he was fascinated by new revelations regarding the age and expansion
of the universe, he asked about near-term applications of this
information.  O'Keefe compared this new knowledge about the universe
to "folks tearing up their flat-Earth society membership cards," and
offered to provide information on applications "for the record" after
the hearing. 

The Senate VA/HUD Appropriations Subcommittee has not yet held its
hearing on NASA's budget request.

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Audrey T. Leath
Media and Government Relations Division
The American Institute of Physics
fyi{at}aip.org
(301) 209-3094
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