Not A Science Agency
Well, well. NASAwatch has a pointer to the OMB budget - they put it up before the NASA announcements.
NASA 2007 budget request
Not good.
Science is CUT about 10%
Exploration Systems (ie Moon/Mars tech development) is moved out of Exploration into Science, and its budget is doubled.
So even if there is a "firewall" again between Exploration Operations and Science, the Exploration Systems development is under the same line as Science and Aeronautics.
Given the likely level of earmarks, Science and Aeronautics is probably looking at a 20-25% effective cut, after inflation.
Detailed budget is here
Biological and Physical Research is zeroed out.
Aeronautics looks like it wil take a 30% cut.
'course the Senate will still have a say, they might add some bits and pieces back.
There is explicit language for SIM and JWST, so what will give?
Looks like the Solar people will be in good shape, but if I parse the language correctly, Earth Science people will get nothing, since they already have lots of satellites, with, like instruments and stuff.
Short version: Griffin is getting the ramp up for CEV and Lunar probes, everything else is cut, savagely in places.
If Congressional earmarks are at the level they've been in last couple of years, then the budget does not add up and something big will have to go.
NASA 2007 budget request
Not good.
Science is CUT about 10%
Exploration Systems (ie Moon/Mars tech development) is moved out of Exploration into Science, and its budget is doubled.
So even if there is a "firewall" again between Exploration Operations and Science, the Exploration Systems development is under the same line as Science and Aeronautics.
Given the likely level of earmarks, Science and Aeronautics is probably looking at a 20-25% effective cut, after inflation.
Detailed budget is here
Biological and Physical Research is zeroed out.
Aeronautics looks like it wil take a 30% cut.
'course the Senate will still have a say, they might add some bits and pieces back.
There is explicit language for SIM and JWST, so what will give?
Looks like the Solar people will be in good shape, but if I parse the language correctly, Earth Science people will get nothing, since they already have lots of satellites, with, like instruments and stuff.
Short version: Griffin is getting the ramp up for CEV and Lunar probes, everything else is cut, savagely in places.
If Congressional earmarks are at the level they've been in last couple of years, then the budget does not add up and something big will have to go.
posted by Steinn at 11:35 AM
3 Comments:
Ack! What kind of things are covered by "biological and physical research"?
Mostly life science research - "living in space" stuff, prep arations for ISS research.
But also physics research to be done in space; like materials science experiments, microgravity researcg etc.
Hosted in Exploration Division;
Curiously, the old server, microgravity.hq.nasa.gov no longer exists and redirects to the completely useless exploration.nasa.gov front page.
http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/station/science/index.html
PS check http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/112555main_exp11_presskit.pdf
page 58 on
the "physical" stuff is mostly toward the end, bread-n-butter stuff like wear'n'tear experiments on solar cells and materials for future missions
most of the stuff is effect of microgravity on humans or other biological systems.
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