NssBlitzWiki

2006 Space Blitz

Washington, D.C. - 5 June 20

RECOMMENDATION (1): Invest in the Future you wish to see come to pass

• - Congress should provide at least an additional $1.1 billion in funding over the President’s request.

• These funds will enable NASA to implement the full mandate of the 2005 NASA Authorization Act.

• These funds are critical to maintain the development pace of the Crew Exploration Vehicle while minimizing disruptions to other NASA programs.

• The total level of funding for NASA should be at least the $17.9 billion of the authorization bill versus the $16.8 billion in the President’s request.

• Congress should strongly consider using a guide of one percent of the federal budget for future out-year NASA appropriations. This level was met or exceeded throughout the post-Apollo era until the mid-nineties. The current level has shrunk to 0.7%.

RECOMMENDATION (2): Leverage resources to buy more progress, not more programmatic infrastructure

• - Congress should direct the use of additional funds to enable NASA to connect current exploration work with the future human exploration of Mars.

RECOMMENDATION: (3): Commercial involvement is critical to sustainable systems & futures

• - Congress should help NASA continue to involve the entrepreneurial and commercial communities by protecting the budget lines for innovative procurement programs such as Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) and the Centennial Challenges program.

• The Centennial Challenges program uses the proven mechanism of prizes to encourage innovation by capitalizing on American ingenuity, to ensure that NASA only pays for demonstrated capabilities, and to vastly reduce overhead costs. The COTS program sets out a relatively modest amount of $500 million over five years for space entrepreneurs to provide private transportation services to the International Space Station. The US must utilize and encourage these entrepreneurs, and that is exactly what COTS is going to do.

RECOMMENDATION (4): Support for space science builds the fund of knowledge critical to our tomorrows

• - Congress should ensure that the NASA budget is balanced and includes adequate funding for space science programs, including, but not limited to the Terrestrial Planet Finder (TPF) mission, a dedicated probe of Jupiter’s moon Europa, and the Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA).

• These first two missions are among the most exciting programs connected to astrobiology – the search for life in the universe.

• SOFIA is a unique international astronomical observatory and test bed for cutting-edge technology and instrumentation useful in future space missions and ground-based observations.

RECOMMENDATION (5): We must have talent to build the future we wish to see come to pass

• - Congress should recognize the critical role of NASA and space exploration in American competitiveness.

• NASA has been a driver of new technologies and capabilities that have changed our lives for the better, and an inspiration for millions of American scientists and engineers.

• Bills moving through Congress now to explicitly recognize this connection should be supported.

Meeting Results

The notes from the three days of congressional briefings can be found in the following locations:

1. BlitzRawNotes - The raw notes from briefings

2. BlitzFollowupNotes - The edited notes and the follow-up work agenda

Attachments

Upload new attachment "Space" Exploration Alliance 2006 Space Blitz.doc

Upload new attachment "Space" Exploration Alliance 2006 Space Blitz.wpd