FY 2000 NASA Budget Request: Space and Earth Sciences

“For the sixth year in a row, NASA’s budget has declined while productivity improves.” --NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin

NASA’s FY 2000 budget request totals $13,578.4 million, a decrease of $86.6 million, or 0.6 percent, from the FY 1999 appropriation of $13,665.0 million. “Now, what does this budget mean for NASA?” asked Administrator Dan Goldin at his February 1 budget briefing. “Overall, good news,” was his answer. “I can say that even though our budget request for FY 2000 will be slightly below this year’s funding level.” Space science, Earth science, and the International Space Station (ISS) would all receive increases under the budget request, Goldin reported.

The Science, Aeronautics and Technology account would drop by 4.1 percent, or $229.2 million, to $5,424.7 million. Within this account, the budgets for space and Earth sciences would both increase, while Life and Microgravity sciences, and aerospace technology, would decrease. The International Space Station account would go up by 7.7 percent to $2,482.7 million. Launch Vehicles and Payload Operations would drop by 0.6 percent to $3,155.3 million, while Mission Support would go down by 0.7 percent, to $2,494.9 million. NASA’s portion of President Clinton’s multi-agency Information Technology initiative would total $38 million.

SPACE SCIENCE:Space Science would go up by 3.7 percent, or $77.4 million, to $2,196.6 million. The Relativity/Gravity Probe-B and TIMED (Thermosphere, Ionosphere, Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics) missions are scheduled for launch in calendar year 2000, as is a third servicing mission for the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). Two Explorer missions (MAP and IMAGE) and one SMEX mission are also planned for a 2000 launch. NASA plans to continue development of the Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF; 2001 launch), a Europa mission (2003 launch), the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), Solar- Terrestrial Probes, and future Mars missions, among others.

Space Science FY 1999 FY 2000 program Appropriation Request (In millions) Space Science Total $2,119.2 $2,196.6 AXAF 41.0 0.0 Relativity/Gravity Probe-B 57.4 40.5 HST Development 161.4 140.4 SOFIA 58.2 45.1 (construction of facilities) (7.3) 0.0 SIRTF 119.7 125.0 TIMED 49.3 16.0 Payloads 28.9 10.0 Explorer Development 196.0 151.0 Mars Surveyor Program 228.4 250.7 Discovery 124.9 180.5 Mission Operations 106.3 85.3 Supporting Research & Technology 945.2 1,152.1 Construction of Facilities 2.5 0.0

EARTH SCIENCE:Earth Science would go up by 3.2 percent, or $45.3 million, to $1,459.1 million. After several 1999 launches including EOS AM-1 and Landsat-7, launches are planned in 2000 for EOS PM, SeaWinds, and the French Jason-1 Ocean Altimetry mission. The first Earth Probes mission will be launched in 2000, with others to follow in 2001 and 2003.

Earth Science FY 1999 FY 2000 program Appropriation Request (In millions) Earth Science Total $1,413.8 $1,459.1 Earth Observing System 631.1 663.2 EOS Data Information System 261.7 231.5 Earth Probes Development 109.7 138.2 Science 323.7 337.3 Operations, Data Retrieval & Storage 76.9 82.9 Launch Services 4.2 0.0 GLOBE 5.0 5.0 Construction of Facilities 1.5 1.0

The next FYI will provide information on NASA’s budget request for Life and Microgravity Sciences and Applications, and for the International Space Station.