Mar 112019
White House is looking to cut back on the SLS.
NASA budget proposal targets SLS
The NASA budget proposal is about half billion dollars less, but a lot of that would be made up for in going with cheaper options. For instance, by switching from SLS to a commercial launcher (presumably the Falcon 9 Heavy), $700 million would be saved. In this proposed budget most areas of NASA would get some amount of cuts, but an interesting bump up is in “Exploration R&D.” Given that NASA works best as an R&D organization, that’s very likely a good thing.
| Account | FY19 Enacted | FY20 Proposal | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| SCIENCE | $6,905.7 | $6,303.7 | -$602.0 |
| – Earth Science | $1,931.0 | $1,779.8 | -$151.2 |
| – Planetary Science | $2,758.5 | $2,622.1 | -$136.4 |
| – Astrophysics | $1,496.2 | $1,197.4 | -$298.8 |
| – Heliophysics | $720.0 | $704.5 | -$15.5 |
| AERONAUTICS | $725.0 | $666.9 | -$58.1 |
| SPACE TECHNOLOGY | $926.9 | $1,014.3 | $87.4 |
| EXPLORATION | $5,050.8 | $5,021.7 | -$29.1 |
| – Orion | $1,350.0 | $1,266.2 | -$83.8 |
| – Space Launch System | $2,150.0 | $1,775.4 | -$374.6 |
| – Exploration Ground Systems | $592.8 | $400.1 | -$192.7 |
| – Exploration R&D | $958.0 | $1,580.0 | $622.0 |
| SPACE OPERATIONS | $4,639.1 | $4,285.7 | -$353.4 |
| STEM ENGAGEMENT | $110.0 | $0.0 | -$110.0 |
| SAFETY, SECURITY AND MISSION SERVICES | $2,755.0 | $3,084.6 | $329.6 |
| CONSTRUCTION & ENVIRONMENTAL | $348.2 | $600.4 | $252.2 |
| INSPECTOR GENERAL | $39.3 | $41.7 | $2.4 |
| TOTAL | $21,500.0 | $21,019.0 | -$481.0 |