NASA Authorization Act of 2019 Introduced In The Senate
Commerce Leaders Introduce the NASA Authorization Act of 2019
“The NASA Authorization Act would:
• Support NASA’s human spaceflight and exploration efforts to return American astronauts to the Moon and prepare for future journeys to Mars.
• Extend authorization for the International Space Station through 2030 and direct NASA to take steps to grow the “space economy.”
• Require the United States to maintain a continuous human presence in low-Earth orbit through and beyond the useful life of the ISS.
• Support NASA’s leadership in coordinating the development of next generation spacesuits.
• Leverage private sector investment to bolster human space exploration.
• Authorize NASA’s Enhanced Use Leasing (EUL) authority. EUL allows companies to lease vacant or underutilized buildings owned by NASA with lease proceeds helping to fund capital improvements at the NASA centers.
• Provide rapid acquisition authorities similar to those that have proven successful at the Department of Defense and other agencies.
• Direct NASA to maintain and upgrade irreplaceable rocket launch and test infrastructure.
• Support vital life and physical science research to ensure that humans can live in deep space safely.
• Direct NASA to improve upon its planetary defense measures in order to protect Earth from asteroids and other near-Earth objects.
• Affirm NASA’s commitment to aeronautics research by supporting a robust X-plane program as well as work on efficient propulsion concepts and advanced composites.
• Support NASA’s STEM education and workforce efforts.”
Show us the money!
Is this the full summary of the acts contents? No mention of unmanned space exploration and science – astrophysics, heliophysics, etc.
The bill contains sixteen pages on science, but I’d say at least 75% of that is empty verbiage. But, among other things, someone’s very unhappy about James Webb Space Telescope and also put in words about not letting WFIRST turn into a similar mess. Follow the link at the top to the full press release and the follow the link at the bottom of that to the full text of the bill.
“Require the United States to maintain a continuous human presence in low-Earth orbit through and beyond the useful life of the ISS.”
This means the gateway would have to manned around the clock, so they would have to change the current plan of only having people there for X amount of days at a time. I guess they could rotate crews out every X months, but that would be the same thing like the ISS now.
This means the gateway would have to manned around the clock,
No it doesn’t. How do you figure that? Gateway isn’t in LEO, and has never been intended for continuous manning.
The US isnt going to maintain both a moon program, a gateway, and the ISS. The money just isn’t there. Heck, the latest cost estimates for launching NASA’S new rocket is a staggering 2 billion each–and that doesnt include any payload. Even if you extend out the ISS to 2030, there’s zero guarantee our ISS partners (namely Russia) will want to stick around that long considering the political environment and China fielding their new station before then—and that doesnt even address the age issue of the station or how we replace the capabilitieswe would loss when the Russians bail. Since we arent going to work with china anytime soon, that leaves the gateway as the only viable human outpost to meet this congressional mandate.
…that leaves the gateway as the only viable human outpost to meet this congressional mandate.
Absolutely false. You keep missing the point.
The congressional mandate is for continuous LEO presence. Gateway won’t be in LEO!!
Yes, NASA will never have the resources to do it all: Moon, Space Station, SLS, etc.
So the actual practical effect of the congressional mandate is to forever anchor NASA into LEO, compelling NASA to divert resources away from deep space exploration.
The mandate assures NASA irrelevancy to the future of manned space exploration.
I missed that part in the mandate, so you’re correct.
Yes, Gateway does not meet the requirements for human presence in LEO. If Congress passes this bill requiring NASA to maintain ISS through its useful life (currently 2028 as I understand it, though the bill states 2030) then it is unlikely that NASA will be able to shift funds for BEO (including lunar) exploration. I have to assume the requirement, including the concept that NASA “expand the space economy” is a stalking horse since if NASA is able to facilitate a self-sustaining LEO economy and can transfer or retire the ISS in favor of a commercial option – Congress will come around and shift its focus.
Of course, since the big news is that the ISS is getting tourists and fresh-baked cookies – I’m not holding my breath.
Earth Science is 10% of the NASA budget but garners about three lines in the Authorization Bill. Guess we should be glad its mentioned at all…
Probably best.
Authorization does not equal appropriations.
All show, no dough
This is a mandate for a permanent standing army of NASA personal, to sustain LEO operations. Particularly in Texas. That is what mandating ISS through 2030, and a mandate on NASA for a ‘continuous human presence in LEO’ actually means.
I like Ted Cruz. But this new space policy mandate reeks of pork.
Unless Congress intends to shower NASA with extra money, which we all know is not going to happen, this space policy legislation will end up as an anchor on NASA, an anchor which tethers NASA to LEO.
NASA should be free to decide the best direction of human spaceflight efforts which are under NASA leadership. Perhaps that might mean putting people on the Moon for up to six months at a time. Maybe that might mean continuous human presence in LEO. But NASA should be free to make that choice.
Well, as a fan of formal grammar, I hope the actual act is better written than the press release. But I doubt it. For example, “maintain and upgrade irreplaceable rocket launch and test infrastructure” actually means NASA isn’t obliged (or perhaps even authorized) to maintain infrastructure which can be replaced. The fine-sounding phrase limits the actual meaning to things which are “irreplaceable.” Similarly, “life and physical science research to ensure that humans can live in deep space safely” limits the authorized research to human spaceflight topics. It doesn’t cover other sorts of “physical science research.” Ok, I know complaining about misplaced commas is cabalistic, but lawyers make a living on that sort of thing, and sometimes that means the rest of us end up having to waste time and jump through pointless hoops.