As the date of April 9, and potential government shutdown, looms, lawmakers are working feverishly to try and reach a spending compromise that will keep the government in operation for an extended period of time. Well, legislators do have a proposed bill ready to be voted upon that would extend governmental operations through next week. Among the cuts, NASA.
In the proposed bill, H.R. 1363, nearly $140 million would be cut from NASA's 2010 budget of $6.14 billion. So, what would get axed?
First to feel the cuts would be the space shuttle program, which has only two further launches before NASA's longest-running manned spaceflight program draws to a close this June. As of now, it is unclear how this budget reduction would impact the shuttle program as it draws to a close, especially considering how NASA has already made commitments to its international partners in regards to delivering equipment to the International Space Station. In addition, another $40 million would be cut from NASA's construction and environmental compliance account, which deals with construction, restoration, and demolition projects..
For NASA, this is nothing new.
Ever since the space race ended with Apollo 11, NASA has found itself on the chopping block as only science, not national pride, has been at stake. Since NASA's budget (as a part of the total federal budget) peaked in the mid 1960s, NASA has been operating under less and less money relative to the government as a whole. However, even as its relative budget has shrank, NASA has always found ways to probe the mysteries of the cosmos. No doubt, regardless of what the next government spending bill offers, NASA will continue on its quest.
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