House Scrambles to Mitigate the Effects of Sequestration on NASA

[Buster's Uncle]

House Scrambles to Mitigate the Effects of Sequestration on NASA
By Mark Whittington | Yahoo! Contributor Network – Tue, Mar 5, 2013.. .
 

According to the Space Politics blog, a continuing resolution that would fund the federal government for the rest of the current year is working its way through the House that will redistribute funding for NASA cut by sequestration.
 
House bill adds money to commercial space, Space Launch System

The Space Politics story reports that the House bill would increase funding for the commercial crew program and the Space Launch System. The continuing resolution would fund most NASA accounts at 2012 levels, with the exception of exploration, which would be increased by almost $400 million and space operations and cross agency support that would be cut by $223 million and about $147 million, respectively. Of the increase in the exploration account, the Space Launch System, the heavy lift launcher NASA is building to send astronauts beyond low Earth orbit, would be increased from $1.86 billion to $2.119 billion. The commercial crew program, which is envisioned to create commercially operated spacecraft to take cargo and crew to and from low Earth orbit, got an increase of $406 million to $525 million. A technology development program got an increase from $304.8 million to $308 million.
 
Sequestration currently curtails commercial crew

Currently, according to a story by Space.com, sequestration would severely curtain spending on the commercial crew program. A number of commercial crew milestones currently planned for 2013 would not be funded should the current sequestration plan persists into the summer. These include a test of Boeing's CST-100 orbital maneuvering and attitude control engine, a review of an in-flight abort test SpaceX plans to conduct in April 2014 and an integrated system and safety analysis review of Sierra Nevada's DreamChaser spacecraft. A number of technology development projects are on the potential chopping block as well.
 
NASA warns of contracts being curtailed

SpaceRef has published a warning letter sent to participants in NASA contracts, grants, Space Act agreements, and cooperative agreements sent by Elizabeth Robinson, the chief acquisitions officer for the space agency. While NASA is attempting to mitigate the effects of sequestration, it is possible that some of these arrangements will be disrupted or even cancelled.
 
No furloughs for NASA employees

According to Space News, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden has promised that there would be no furloughs of NASA employees as a result of sequestration. However, Bolden said nothing about contractor personnel, which have traditional taken the blunt of employment cuts when the space agency experiences budget shortfalls. Bolden also warned that sequestration will delay the operation of commercially operated spacecraft, extend the reliance NASA has on Russia to provide transportation of astronauts to and from the International Space Station, and inhibit the development of new technology.
 

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