spacetoday.net: Senate committee approves $15.3 billion NASA budget

Updated: Fri, Sep 5, 2003, 10:41 AM ET (1441 GMT)
Originally Posted: Thu, Sep 4, 2003, 8:33 PM ET (0033 GMT)
NASA

The Senate Appropriations Committee approved a $15.3 billion fiscal year 2004 budget for NASA on Thursday, trimming $200 million from the International Space Station program but preserving other programs, including a Pluto mission. The major difference between this budget and the nearly $15.5 billion budget proposed by President Bush in February is a $200 million cut in the ISS program. The committee explained in a statement that the reduction in crew from three to two and the use of Russian vehicles to resupply the station led them to make the cut, noting that "there are other pressing needs within NASA and the bill for funds." The bill also cut $20 million from the Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter (JIMO) mission, explaining that a similar amount was added to the mission last year and not requested. The bill also noted that "there are no major cuts or terminations to any programs" in the science and aeronautics portion of the bill, implying that senators preserved full funding for the New Frontiers program and its first mission, the New Horizons Pluto flyby spacecraft. The House had cut a substantial fraction of the project's budget earlier this year, threatening a planned 2006 launch. The committee made no changes to the space shuttle portion of the budget, but said that it expects to hear from NASA in the next few months about what changes will be required to the shuttle program and at what cost.