"NASA's Science, Aeronautics, and Exploration [SAE]
account provides funding for the Science, Exploration Systems, and
Aeronautics Research Mission Directorates and Education Programs.
The SAE appropriation includes both the direct and the indirect costs
of supporting the Mission Directorates and Education Program, and
provides for: research; development; operations; salaries and related
expenses; design, repair, rehabilitation, and modification of facilities
and construction of new facilities; maintenance and operation of facilities;
and other general and administrative activities supporting SAE programs."
"The activities of NASA's Space Science Enterprise seeks
to chart the evolution of the universe, from origins to destiny, and
understand its galaxies, stars, planetary bodies, and life. The Enterprise
asks basic questions that have eternally perplexed human beings, such
as how the universe began and evolved and whether there is other intelligent
life in the universe. The quest for this information, and the answers
themselves, are intended to maintain scientific leadership, excite
and inspire our society, strengthen education and scientific literacy,
develop and transfer technologies to promote U.S. competitiveness,
foster international cooperation to enhance programs and share their
benefits, and set the stage for future space ventures.
"The Committee reiterates its strong support for the
servicing of the Hubble Space Telescope by the Space Shuttle once
the Administrator has determined the Shuttle is safe to fly and certified
its use for a Hubble servicing mission.
"The Committee has provided the full budget request
of $443,100,000 for the James Webb Telescope and directs NASA to maintain
the current launch schedule.
"The Committee has provided the full budget request
of $73,400,000 for the Explorer program and expects NASA to support
the continued development of the Interstellar Boundary Explorer to
maintain its current launch schedule.
"The budget request eliminates funding for the SOFIA
mission in fiscal year 2007. Since the budget was released, NASA has
completed a review of its decision and has concluded that there are
no scientific or technical reasons for cancelling the mission. Likewise,
the Dawn mission was initially cancelled by NASA, only to be reinstated
after complete information about the mission was reviewed. This calls
into question the credibility of the science directorate in making
budget decisions and determining scientific priorities.
"The Committee expects NASA to come up with a plan to
fund the SOFIA mission in 2007 from within available funds through
a reprogramming request subject to section 505 of this act. In determining
the funding strategy for this program, the Committee directs NASA
to follow the recommendations of the National Academy of Sciences
Decadal survey in Astronomy and Astrophysics when setting mission
and budget priorities. Missions that are ranked higher in the surveys
should be given priority over missions that are ranked lower in priority
with launch dates that are far into the future.
"The Committee has included an additional $16,500,000
for the Living With A Star Program as follows: an additional $5,000,000
for the Geospace Radiation Belt Mapper to accelerate launch to January
2011; $4,000,000 for pre-phase A definition on the Sentinels Program;
and $7,500,000 for Solar Probe to retire technical and cost risk for
the missions thermal protection system.
"The National Academy of Sciences has recommended that
NASA and the Department of Energy work together to develop a Joint
Dark Energy Mission [JDEM]. The Committee strongly supports development
of the JDEM through full and open competition with project management
residing at the appropriate NASA center.
"The Committee supports continued development of NASA's
Planetary Aircraft Risk Reduction High-Altitude Deployment Demonstration
Program.
"The Committee has provided the budget request of $120,000,000
for the Juno-Jupiter Polar Orbiter mission and fully expects NASA
to maintain this mission and its out-year budget profile to accommodate
a 2010 launch as originally envisioned.
"Earth science has been a critical part of the balanced
space program long advocated by this Committee. The Committee remains
fully committed to a robust Earth science program at NASA and the
Committee expects NASA to remain fully committed to earth science,
with future missions that reflect a serious commitment to earth science
as a vital part of the Nation's space program.
"The Committee fully expects this implementation profile
to have a continuous mixture of small-, medium-, and observatory-class
earth science missions that guarantee regular and recurring flight
opportunities for the earth science community.
"The recommendation includes an increase of $15,000,000
above the budget request for the NASA Earth Science Applications Program.
This funding increase shall only be used to support new competitively
selected applications projects to be selected during fiscal year 2007.
These projects will integrate the results of NASA's Earth observing
systems and earth system models (using observations and predictions)
into decision support tools to serve applications of national priority
including, but not limited to: Homeland Security; Coastal Management;
Agriculture Efficiency; and Water Management and Disaster Management.
"In Senate Report 109-88 accompanying the fiscal year
2006 appropriations for NASA, the Committee directed NASA to guarantee
that the EOSDIS core system remain the operational foundation for
all new Earth science missions. The Committee strongly reiterates
this view and directs NASA to follow this direction in implementing
future Earth science missions. The Committee does not support development
of new, separate data systems for future Earth science missions and
cautions the agency against taking further action that does not follow
the guidance contained in Senate Report 109-88 or the report accompanying
this act.
"While the Committee supports continuation of the Landsat
program and a follow-on Landsat mission, the Committee has provided
no funding for the Landsat Data Continuity Mission in fiscal year
2007. The Committee does not agree with the agency's proposed procurement
strategy and directs the agency to suspend any further procurement
activity until enactment of the fiscal year 2007 State, Science, Justice,
Commerce Appropriations Act.
"The agency's proposed procurement strategy for Landsat
closely resembles the failed NPOEES procurement and marks a significant
departure from previous Landsat procurement policy. The Committee
urges NASA to return to the previous procurement model that fully
competes separate elements of the mission with a NASA center serving
as project integrator and manager. This procurement model ensures
the best value for NASA and the taxpayer.
"The Committee recommends the budget request of $28,400,000
for continued operation of the Independent Verification and Validation
[IV&V] Center in Fairmont, West Virginia.
"The Committee is supportive of the vision for exploration
and provides $894,700,000 for the Crew Exploration Vehicle [CEV].
The Committee also funds the Crew Launch Vehicle at $836,700,000 for
the Crew Launch Vehicle [CLV] and $373,100,000 for Launch and Mission
systems to support facility needs. The Commercial Orbital Transportation
Services program is provided $121,000,000, the same as the budget
request.
"the Committee further provides $312,700,000 for the
Robotic Lunar Exploration Program [RLEP]. The Committee believes that
the missions associated with RLEP are essential to the success of
the anticipated manned missions to the Moon. In 2005, NASA made the
decision calling for the development of a lunar robotic lander mission
and the Committee believes this mission is of critical importance
for the exploration vision. For this purpose, $40,000,000 is provided
from within funds provided to the RLEP program to initiate work on
this mission.
"The Committee is concerned with the steady decline
in the aeronautics research and technology request. Even more alarming,
NASA's budget projections indicate that this trend will continue.
The Committee is committed to the research NASA conducts in aeronautics,
and to the benefits, both in terms of safety and economics, that will
be made available to the public through NASA-led research. Accordingly,
the Committee provides an additional $35,000,000 beyond the amount
requested for aeronautics programs at NASA.
"NASA has a long history of supporting science, technology,
engineering, and mathematical education. This support reaches all
levels of education from K-12 to graduate level. For NASA to embark
on its vision for exploration there must exist a general workforce
that is technically skilled as well as a wide range of scientists
and engineers for NASA to draw upon. This will require exciting young
minds in the areas of science, and then sustaining this excitement
through college and beyond. To help accomplish this task, NASA has
dedicated funds toward many education activities. The Committee supports
the budget request for the National Space Grant College and Fellowship
Program (Space Grant). The Committee also directs, to the extent possible,
that education funds within this account address the education needs
of women, minorities, and other historically underrepresented groups."
Other report language included the committee's recommendation
on "Classroom of the Future," the Centennial Challenges
Program, the National Remote Sensing and Law Center, and a lengthy
list of congressionally-directed spending and accounting guidelines
for these projects.
Enlarge text
Shrink text
Print
E-mail
Digg this
Del.icio.us
Furl