Space Foundation Issues Statement on President's Proposed NASA Budget

In early February, the Space Foundation issued a statement supporting President Obama’s FY2016 budget request for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). That request, called for a FY2016 top line budget of $18.5 billion for the nation’s space agency — a $519 million increase over what Congress approved for the current fiscal year.

“The President’s request is a move in the right direction,” said Space Foundation Chief Executive Officer Elliot Pulham.

“The U.S. investment in NASA is a strategic investment in the future — one that fuels our technology base, our global economic competitiveness, and our ability to lead international partnerships,” Pulham said. “In that context, we believe the NASA budget can, and should, continue to grow. The President’s FY2016 budget request preserves International Space Station operations through 2024, increases NASA science programs by $43 million to $5.29 billion, keeps the SLS-Orion program on track to provide capabilities for human exploration beyond low earth orbit, and preserves a space technology budget of $724.8 million.

“The proposed budget also includes a credible aeronautics program, funded at $571.4 million,” Pulham said, “and, very importantly, it keeps commercial crew transport programs on track with $1.2 billion in funding toward a competitive, two-supplier system that will return America to human spaceflight operations in just two years’ time.”

Read Space Foundation budget analysis reports and overviews here.

This article is part of Space Watch: March 2015 (Volume: 14, Issue: 3).