Vice Chairwoman Mikulski Provides NASA with Strong and Balanced Funding to Keep U.S. First in Astronomy, Keep Ongoing Missions on Track, and to Invest in Key National Science Priorities

Press Release

U.S. Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.), Vice Chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee and the Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee, today announced that the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2016 includes a total of $19.3 billion for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

The legislation is currently under consideration in the House of Representatives. The Senate is expected to take it up later this week.

Protecting balanced funding for NASA is a priority for Vice Chairwoman Mikulski. The bill provides NASA with $1.3 billion more than the fiscal year 2015 enacted level and $756 million more than the President's budget request.

The bill provides funding for NASA's missions that further our understanding of the Earth, including $1.9 billion for Earth Science missions--$149 million more than the fiscal year 2015 enacted level. The House had proposed cutting Earth Science by more than $250 million. The funding contained in the bill will keep missions on schedule that help us to better understand some of the biggest questions facing our planet, including the effects of climate change. The bill includes $100 million for Landsat-9, a satellite that provides data on Earth's land cover, as well as $75 million for the Pre-Aerosol, Clouds, and Ocean Ecosystem (PACE) mission, which will collect data on global ocean color. Vice Chairwoman Mikulski worked tirelessly to protect and increase funding for these missions.

"NASA funding helps us understand the Universe while protecting our own planet." Vice Chairwoman Mikulski said. "NASA funding isn't spent in space, it's spent right here on Earth to create jobs today and jobs tomorrow through new technologies, new products and new industries."

The bill also supports ongoing human missions in space, as well as improving our ability to access and prolong those missions. This includes:

-$5 billion for Space Operations of which $1.2 billion is for Commercial Crew Transportation Capability, which will safely send our nation's astronauts to and from the International Space Station (ISS) by 2017. This bill fully funds the President's request level and is $439 million more than the fiscal year 2015 enacted level. Commercial crew funding is provided within the Space Operations Account to better align funding for the ISS and the vehicles which support it. Space Operations also supports the ISS, contains full funding for planned commercial cargo missions, and provides for the 21st Century Launch Complex.
-$4 billion is provided for Exploration for the development and construction of systems that will enable human spaceflight beyond low-Earth orbit. This includes $1.27 billion for the Orion crew capsule, an increase of $70 million above the fiscal year 2015 level; $2 billion for the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket; and $410 million for ground systems.

The bill supports Aeronautics at $640 million and Space Technology at $687 million, which is $91 million more than fiscal year 2015.

Finally, this bill provides resources to further our understanding of our solar system and deep space. This finding includes:

-$620 million for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), fully funding the President's budget request and maintaining a launch date in 2018. JWST will keep the United States first in astronomy and will be 100 times more powerful than Hubble.
-$98 million for the Hubble Space Telescope, $1.3 million more than the President's budget request. Hubble celebrated its 25th Anniversary in 2015 and is still making discoveries and rewriting the astronomy books.
-$133 million for Satellite Servicing which is $3 million more than the fiscal year 2015 enacted level and $68 million more than the President's budget request. The RESTORE-L mission seeks to refuel satellites in low-Earth orbit no later than 2019. The bill also directs NASA to undertake a full-scale, stand-alone demonstration that builds on missions to save and upgrade Hubble. This funding is provided within Space Technology because the project has broad applicability to multiple NASA mission directorates.
-$90 million for Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST), $76 million more than the President's budget request. WFIRST is a mission being developed to meet decadal survey goals in observation of dark energy and exoplanets.
-230 million for Solar Probe Plus, fully funding the President's request level. The robotic mission will visit the Sun's outer atmosphere and sample the near-Sun environment to answer critical heliophyics questions.

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