NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin was the sole witness before the House Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics at a late February hearing. While difficult issues were raised - among them the space station and a proposed budget cut in NASA's academic programs - it was a good day on Hill for Dan Goldin.
Subcommittee Chairman Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) got the hearing off to a somewhat sour start with a critical statement about President Clinton, the chairman saying, "Sadly, space is obviously going to be a low priority at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue for the rest of this Presidency." Rohrabacher's premise that NASA was diminished was soon offset by Goldin's enthusiastic opening statement, accompanied by dazzling graphics displayed on a newly installed huge screen and television monitors in the committee room. When the lights came back up, the chairman's expression matched his response -- "That was very inspiring."
Goldin addressed funding issues - particularly space science - in the opening paragraphs of his written testimony: "The percentage of our budget devoted to science and technology has increased from 31% in FY 1991 to 41% today, and is planned to grow to 45% in FY 2004. At the same time, the percentage of our budget devoted to human spaceflight has declined from 48% in FY 1991 to 40% today, and is projected to decline to 35% by FY 2004. As a result, our budget is much more balanced."Science spacecraft flights are due to increase from an annual rate of two in the early 1990s to seven at the present time to an average of fourteen per year FY 2000 to FY 2004. If the administration's outyear projections hold up (always a speculative exercise), NASA's budget will start increasing in the future.
The International Space Station (ISS) is - no surprise, here - going to cost more money, Goldin saying, "This budget reflects an Administration policy decision to reduce the level of risk to the ISS with a net increase of $1.4 billion over the next five years, including $349 million more for FY 2000 alone. We...are developing a robust Russian Contingency Plan."
Rohrabacher began by asking Goldin about the "challenge of the space station." Goldin replied that "the problem hasn't gone away," but opposes any immediate budgetary move that could be interpreted by the Russians as a signal that they could back off from their commitments. Rohrabacher responded "that answer is an acceptable answer." Goldin agreed that with the chairman that the Russians do not have a good track record.
Rep. George Brown (D-CA) asked about a replacement for the Hubble Space Telescope. NASA is currently developing a much more powerful instrument for a far lower life cycle price that would be ready by 2007. The agency is taking a close look at Hubble, since it only has four gyros left of the original six; three are needed. A rescue repair mission may be necessary. Goldin also assured Brown that NASA has made a "very rapid response" to the committee's interest that the agency track asteroids or comets that could pose a threat to Earth.
Rep. Dave Weldon (R-FL), representing the district with the Kennedy Space Center, pressed Goldin about the shift in funding to space science. Goldin replied that "I believe it is the right thing to do." When Weldon said that his constituents might not be "real happy" about that, Goldin said, "They should be," explaining the rationale for his decision. Goldin was also asked again about Russian participation in the space station, and did not mince words when describing the importance of their contributions, but also the difficulties they were causing. Several members asked why NASA is asking for less money for academic programs (FY 99 budget of $138.5 million; FY 2000 request of $100.0 million.) Goldin said it was necessary to make this cut to comply with the budget caps, but said that he would work with committee members to see if something could be done.