Important Appropriations Hearing for NASA

Important Appropriations Hearing for NASA If public hearings are an accurate reflection of congressional sentiment toward an agency, last week’s appearance of NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin before the House VA, HUD, Independent Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee is a good sign. In a surprisingly brief three and one-half hour hearing, House appropriations, while having deep concerns about some difficulties NASA is facing, nevertheless exhibited confidence in Goldin and the programs he is administering.

Without a doubt, uncertainty about Russia’s participation in the International Space Station is creating considerable anxiety for both Goldin and congressional leaders. Subcommittee chairman Jerry Lewis (R-CA) brought this up at the onset of the hearing, and it was the focus of many statements on both sides of the conference table. Goldin said that “promises no longer count,” adding that he will travel to Russia in April to make a firsthand appraisal of Russia’s ability to meet the Service Module December 1998 launch schedule. Goldin, who is characteristically direct in speaking, allowed that “my assessment is that we will not see the Service Module” hold to the current schedule. Subcommittee members were very interested about NASA’s contingency plans, and seemed satisfied with Goldin’s explanations, and his declaration that “we will live within our existing budget.” While Goldin said that NASA has learned much from the Russians, and has no concerns about the quality of its work, he admitted, “Are there problems? You bet.”

There was much discussion about NASA’s Reusable Launch Vehicle technology program, which consists of the X-33 and X-34. Terming current launch costs as unacceptably high, Goldin said this program’s goal is to reduce launch costs to $1,000 per pound of payload. He warned subcommittee members that “we may fail” in this program, an assessment which no one on the subcommittee seemed to dispute.

There was not much discussion about space science programs, although there was considerable attention to this in Goldin’s written testimony. The testimony described the Origins Program as the highlight of the Space Science request. This program will answer “many of the questions about the beginning of the Universe and our solar system,” and includes requests for additional funding for the Mars Surveyor Program, a new Exploration Technologies Development program, the New Millennium program, full development of the Keck II ground-based interferometer, and an astrochemistry/astrobiology program. The Mission to Planet Earth program was also described at length. Goldin said President Clinton is very supportive of the agency’s approach.

If there was one overriding message in Goldin’s written testimony it was for the need for a stable budget. This was mentioned repeatedly, as was progress NASA has made in developing faster, better, and cheaper missions. Early in this decade the “average cost per spacecraft launched was $590 million.... Our goal beyond the year 2000 is $77 million.” The “average development time per spacecraft” will be reduced from 8.3 years to 3.1 years. The result will be an increase in missions from two to 16 flights a year beyond the year 2000. “NASA is thrilled with Galileo and the science it is returning, but the days of bigger and bigger spacecraft are over,” Goldin declared.

Although this was a good day for NASA on Capitol Hill, the agency’s FY 1998 budget request still has a long way to go. Ranking Minority Member Louis Stokes (D-OH) warned that this is going to be “another very difficult budget year.” Citing a needed $5.6 billion FY 1998 infusion for HUD’s Section 8 rent subsidy program, Stokes stressed the importance of the size of the subcommittee’s overall 602(b) budget allocation as critical to NASA’s request. Goldin replied, “NASA has never walked away from a tough situation.”