After the President and the Senate forged on compromise for the NASA Authorization Act of 2010 in late July and after a political firestorm through late August and September relating to the House Science Committee bill, Congressman Bart Gordon (D-TN) released today what appears to be "a compromised compromise" that the commercial space industry finds unacceptable. Several space advocacy groups this afternoon went to work to kill the House bill that some expect to come to the floor Friday.
The Space Frontier Foundation notes in opposition that the new House bill: 1] Mandates 24 separate restrictions on the development of commercial crew, which is THREE TIMES more restrictions than the Senate bill; 2] Merges the budgets of Commercial Cargo with Commercial Crew, resulting in cuts of over 33% of the Senate Bill, and 51% of the President's request. And depending on the allocation of future funds, this cut may wind up being as much as 80%; 3] Tweaks the heavy lift language of the Senate bill to allow NASA to continue developing Ares I if the agency wanted to, all in a desperate ploy to continue the unsustainable Constellation program as-is; and 4] Mandates that NASA give Congress 30 days notice before terminating or allowing any Constellation contracts to lapse, and gives special dispensation to the Ares solid rocket motors.
Space advocacy groups are urging IMMEDIATE ACTION by contacting members of the US House of Representatives in opposition to the House bill and passage of the Senate version.
Space community insiders were scratching their heads because the new House bill is slightly different from the Senate version. Which means that even if it passes the House – either before Congress quits next week or during a lame duck session after Election Day -- it would require another round of negotiations followed by another round of votes in both chambers — unlikely in an election year.
The Space Frontier Foundation notes in opposition that the new House bill: 1] Mandates 24 separate restrictions on the development of commercial crew, which is THREE TIMES more restrictions than the Senate bill; 2] Merges the budgets of Commercial Cargo with Commercial Crew, resulting in cuts of over 33% of the Senate Bill, and 51% of the President's request. And depending on the allocation of future funds, this cut may wind up being as much as 80%; 3] Tweaks the heavy lift language of the Senate bill to allow NASA to continue developing Ares I if the agency wanted to, all in a desperate ploy to continue the unsustainable Constellation program as-is; and 4] Mandates that NASA give Congress 30 days notice before terminating or allowing any Constellation contracts to lapse, and gives special dispensation to the Ares solid rocket motors.
Space advocacy groups are urging IMMEDIATE ACTION by contacting members of the US House of Representatives in opposition to the House bill and passage of the Senate version.
Space community insiders were scratching their heads because the new House bill is slightly different from the Senate version. Which means that even if it passes the House – either before Congress quits next week or during a lame duck session after Election Day -- it would require another round of negotiations followed by another round of votes in both chambers — unlikely in an election year.
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