spacetoday.net: Appropriators pass NASA spending bill that funds WFIRST

Posted: Sun, May 20, 2018, 1:39 PM ET (1739 GMT)
WFIRST illustration (NASA)

A spending bill approved by House appropriators Thursday partially restores funding for a NASA space telescope proposed for cancellation. The House Appropriations Committee released Wednesday the report accompanying the fiscal year 2019 commerce, justice and science spending bill, which the committee will mark up this morning. The report includes $150 million for WFIRST, a space telescope mission that the administration's budget request proposed cancelling. While that funding is the same as what the mission received in 2018, it is only half of what NASA previously projected WFIRST would need in 2019 to remain on schedule. The report is silent on the fate of four Earth science missions also slated for cancellation in the request, but does add funding for the RESTORE-L satellite servicing mission to keep in on track for a 2021 flight demonstration.