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Hearings

Feb 24 2010

Challenges=20 and Opportunities in the NASA FY 2011 Budget Proposal

Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison

U.S. Senate Committee on = Commerce,=20 Science and Transportation

Statement by Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison
Before = the Science=20 and Space Subcommittee
Hearing on Challenges and = Opportunities in the=20 NASA Fiscal Year 2011 Budget Proposal
February 24, 2009

Mr. Chairman and Ranking Member Vitter, I appreciate your = Subcommittee=20 holding this very important hearing on NASA=E2=80=99s Fiscal Year (FY) = 2011 Budget=20 Request. I join you in welcoming General Charles Bolden, NASA's = new=20 Administrator, and the excellent panel of witnesses who will follow him: =

Captain Robert "Hoot" Gibson, whose distinguished career at NASA = as a=20 space shuttle pilot and commander included commanding STS-61C, the = mission=20 that included as crew members both General Bolden, as the Pilot, and = the=20 Subcommittee Chairman as a Payload Specialist in January of 1986;=20
Mr. Miles O'Brien, who for many years was CNN's eyes and ears on = the space=20 program, and I understand was eager to be the first Journalist in = Space--once=20 Walter Cronkite became ineligible to fly;=20
Mr. Tom Young, whose distinguished first career included = management of a=20 major aerospace corporation, and his second "career" in so-called = retirement=20 has included serving on the Space Studies Board as well as leading or=20 participating in a great many independent space-related study panels = and=20 advisory groups; and=20
Mr. Michael Snyder, a constituent of mine in Houston, and a fine = example=20 of the highly skilled and dedicated workforce that functions as the = real=20 backbone of our nation's space endeavors. I am especially grateful = that Mr.=20 Snyder has chosen to come today at his own personal expense to give us = insights into the workforce and the potential impacts of the Budget = Request=20 from the perspective of the "troops in the trenches," whom we rarely = have the=20 opportunity to hear from.

This hearing begins the Commerce Committee=E2=80=99s consideration of = the President's=20 FY 2011 Budget Request, as we undertake our responsibility to establish = the=20 policies and authorize the funds necessary to ensure the United States = maintains=20 its leadership in space exploration. Our work is particularly = vital this=20 year, as it is critical that the Congress examine closely the very = underpinnings=20 of the proposed NASA budget request, which I believe, if accepted and = supported=20 by the Congress in its present form, would spell the end of our = nation=E2=80=99s=20 leadership in space exploration. That would certainly be the case in the = area of=20 human spaceflight capability.

Since the release of the FY 2010 Budget Request last year, the future = of=20 human space flight programs has been in question. As part of that = request, the=20 Administration announced it would establish an independent review panel, = chaired=20 by my good friend Mr. Norman Augustine, to review U.S. Human Space = Flight Plans=20 and provide options for how those programs should proceed in the future. =

The Augustine Panel completed its review in late August of last year, = and=20 released its Summary Report in September. Shortly thereafter, this = Subcommittee held a hearing on the report with Mr. Augustine appearing = as the=20 sole witness. Since the release of the full report in September, = we have=20 all been waiting for the Administration=E2=80=99s response.

The Augustine Panel provided a total of seven approaches that could = be taken=20 to ensure America's continued leadership in space--to establish a space = program=20 "worthy of a great nation," as suggested by the title of their final = report.=20 None of those options leapt out as the obvious, consensus answer to the = mix of=20 vehicle development options and strategies necessary to meet the = challenges of=20 the next generation of human spaceflight. There was, however, a clear = consensus=20 on two important points.

First, the Panel found that, without a significant increase in the = total=20 amount of funding made available to NASA, none of the options presented = could be=20 expected to succeed--including the current plans and programs for = developing the=20 Ares 1 and Ares V launch vehicles and the Orion Crew Exploration = Vehicle.=20 Second, the Panel recommended that a decision be made to formally = extend=20 U.S. plans to operate and utilize the International Space Station (ISS) = through=20 at least the year 2020.

The Panel=E2=80=99s key conclusions underscored what we in the = authorizing committees=20 have been saying for the past five years, and which formed the basis for = the=20 funding levels and directives that we authorized in both our 2005 and = 2008 NASA=20 Authorization Acts. Our directives would have led to a more timely = and=20 successful level of development for the vehicles to replace the space = shuttle=20 systems, and would have ensured that NASA allow operations of ISS = through at=20 least 2020.

I remind my colleagues that we imposed these requirements because up = to that=20 point, NASA's internal planning--and budget guidance from the Office of=20 Management and Budget--was to cease operations aboard the space station = in 2015,=20 just five years after its assembly and outfitting would finally be = completed by=20 the remaining space shuttle flights.

Unfortunately, the FY 2011 Budget Request does not provide the means = to=20 ensure that the extension and full utilization of the space station can = be=20 realized. We are already planning to fly 10 fewer missions in completing = the=20 space station than had been planned in 2005. As a result, 10 flights' = worth of=20 flight-ready payloads--averaging between 40,000 to 50,000 pounds per=20 flight--were essentially relegated to storage warehouses where most of = them=20 remain today, ready to fly, ready to use, but with no guaranteed "ticket = to=20 ride" to be of any use to the station. What is most important to = remember,=20 is that the decisions about which instruments and equipment to swap into = the=20 remaining flights were based on the internal assumption of the need to = support=20 the ISS through 2015--not through 2020.

The result of this is that we do not know how many, or which, of = those=20 "grounded payload" items might actually be needed in order to ensure the = station=20 can be supported and maintained safely and reliably until 2020. = Not only=20 that, we do not know which, or how many, of these payloads are simply = too large=20 or too heavy to be carried to orbit by any existing vehicle other than = the space=20 shuttle. And finally, we do not know what additional items might = need to=20 be ordered, manufactured and delivered in the future, or what launch = vehicle=20 capacity will be needed to deliver them to the station. This is simply = not the=20 way a great nation should conduct its civil space program. This is not = the way=20 to ensure that a decision and pronouncement to continue operations = through 2020=20 will not become an empty gesture due to the deterioration, damage, or = failure of=20 equipment and systems vital to providing the oxygen, water, power to = make the=20 ISS habitable and to support scientific research.

I am also deeply troubled about the Administration=E2=80=99s proposal = to simply=20 cancel the Constellation programs of Ares 1, the low-earth orbit crew = launch=20 vehicle, the Ares V Heavy Lift vehicle for enabling flights beyond = low-Earth=20 orbit, and the Orion Crew Exploration capsule to carry the crews for = both of=20 those missions. The proposed budget request offers a completely = different=20 approach, which is essentially to place all of this country's human = spaceflight=20 capability in the hands of commercially-developed crew launch systems, = which are=20 not yet defined and for which no real design requirements, development=20 milestones, or even approximate cost estimates are provided.

There also appears to have been little thought given to how we might = leverage=20 the $9 billion dollars already spent on the Constellation vehicles in = developing=20 an alternative government-operated space transportation system to ensure = we have=20 the ability to take personnel into space, should those commercial = efforts not=20 succeed, or in case they are delayed. I believe that is = irresponsible and=20 unworthy of this nation's historical leadership in space.

I have been, and continue to be a supporter of the current COTS = (Commercial=20 Orbital Transportation Systems) activities being pursued with SpaceX and = Orbital=20 Sciences Corporation for cargo delivery services for the Space Station.=20 But, until those efforts are proven to be successful, we have no = business=20 investing large amounts of taxpayers' dollars to begin active = development of=20 crew-carrying commercial vehicles, especially when we have no assurance = that the=20 government will not end up being the only customer for those launch=20 services.

Instead of sending up a white flag for our nation=E2=80=99s premiere = science agency,=20 we should embrace efforts to close the gap in U.S. human space flight. = If not,=20 we must face the reality that we will be totally dependent on Russia, = far from=20 our strongest ally, for access to space until the next generation of = vehicle is=20 developed. Not only would we be turning our backs on 40 years of = American=20 space superiority, we would be giving up vital national security and = economic=20 interests to other nations that are eager to exploit this = situation. I am=20 simply not prepared to allow the United States to lose its edge in this = critical=20 area. That is why I have drafted, and will introduce, a = comprehensive bill=20 to address America=E2=80=99s human space flight programs. My bill = would allow us=20 to reach full utilization of the space station, provide for the shuttle = to=20 continue operations if necessary to bring essential equipment to the = station to=20 reach a 2020 service date, and mitigate the need for our nation to rely = on=20 others to provide access to space for our astronauts corps and = researchers.

I do want to acknowledge some good news in the FY 2011 Budget = Request, which=20 is that the Obama Administration agrees with the need to continue = supporting the=20 space station to at least 2020, and to expand and increase its = utilization for=20 research. That is very welcome news. But my earlier concerns = are=20 very significant examples of how Obama Administration appears to have = ignored=20 the recommendations of the Augustine Panel. Therefore, I am = pleased that=20 we will begin examining these issues today, and I commend the Chairman = and=20 Ranking Member of the Subcommittee for their leadership. I look = forward to=20 the testimony of the witnesses and the discussions with the=20 Subcommittee.

Thank you.

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