FY 2015 Budget Request: NASA

The Obama Administration has requested $17,460.6 million for NASA for FY 2015. Under this request the agency’s budget would decline 1.1 percent. Funding for Science would decline 3.5 percent.

NASA has not released its full budget, but did prepare a 30-page summary providing information about its FY 2015 request. Additional information about the request will be posted here in coming days.

In discussing the request, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden explained:

“This budget keeps us on the same, steady path we have been following – a stepping stone approach to send humans to Mars in the 2030’s…. This budget ensures that the United States will remain the world’s leader in space exploration and scientific discovery for years to come. The budget supports the administration’s commitment that NASA be a catalyst for the growth of a vibrant American commercial space industry, and keeps us on target to launch American astronauts from right here in the USA by 2017, ending our reliance on others to get into space and freeing us up to carry out even more ambitious missions beyond low-Earth orbit.”

Total NASA:
The FY 2014 appropriation was $17,646.5 million
The FY 2015 request is $17,460.6 million, a decrease of $185.9 million or 1.1 percent

Within NASA:

Science:
The FY 2014 appropriation was $5,151.2 million.
The FY 2015 request is $4,972.0 million, a decrease of $179.2 million or 3.5 percent.

Within this Directorate are the following programs:
Earth Science: $1,770.3 million, a decrease of 3.1 percent
Planetary Science: $1,280.3 million, a decrease of 4.8 percent
Astrophysics: $607.3 million, a decrease of 9.1 percent
James Webb Space Telescope: $645.4 million, a decrease of 1.9 percent
Heliophysics: $668.9 million, an increase of 2.3 percent

Aeronautics:
The FY 2014 appropriation was $566.0 million.
The FY 2015 request is $551.1 million, a decrease of $14.9 million or 2.6 percent.

Space Technology:
The FY 2014 appropriation was $576.0 million.
The FY 2015 request is $705.5 million, an increase of $129.5 million or 22.5 percent.

Exploration:
The FY 2014 appropriation was $4,113.2 million.
The FY 2015 request is $3,976.0 million, a decrease of $137.2 million or 3.3 percent.

Within this Directorate are the following programs:
Exploration Systems Development: $2,784.4 million, a decrease of 10.6 percent
Commercial Spaceflight: $848.3 million, an increase of 21.9 percent
Exploration Research and Development: $343.4 million, an increase of 13.7 percent

Space Operations:
The FY 2014 appropriation was $3,778.0 million.
The FY 2015 request is $3,905.4 million, an increase of $127.4 million or 3.4 percent.

Education:
The FY 2014 appropriation is $116.6 million.
The FY 2015 request is $88.9 million, a decrease of $27.7 million or 23.8 percent.

Cross Agency Support:
The FY 2014 appropriation was $2,793.0 million.
The FY 2015 request is $2,778.6, a decrease of $14.4 million or 0.5 percent.

Construction and Environmental Compliance and Restoration:
The FY 2014 appropriation was $515.0 million.
The FY 2015 request is $446.1 million, a decrease of $68.9 million or 13.4 percent.

Inspector General:
The FY 2014 appropriation was $37.5 million.
The FY 2015 budget request is $37.0, a decrease of $0.5 million or 1.3 percent.