NASA’s fiscal year 2017 budget request features a new start: a public-private partnership for a cis-lunar habitat and systems in preparation for human missions into deep space.
NASA said in its budget request that its Advanced Exploration Systems (AES) division, working closely with the private sector, will begin development of a system concepts and integrated subsystems for a cis-lunar habitat and systems that will enable extended duration human missions in the proving ground of cis-lunar space. AES will continue the existing acquisition strategy for the cis-lunar habitat and systems by building upon the NextSTEP public-private partnerships, which seek to leverage additional public sector investments to develop commercial habitats in low earth orbit (LEO).
NASA Chief Financial Officer (CFO) David Radzanowski said Tuesday in a teleconference that the agency budgeted $90 million in FY ’17 for the cis-lunar concepts and integrated subsystems development and that NASA budgeted $55 million for the effort in FY ’16.
NASA requested $324 million for its AES portfolio in FY ’17, a 71 percent increase from the $189 million provided in NASA’s FY ’15 operating plan. NASA, overall, requested roughly $19 billion for FY ’17, down from the $19.3 billion appropriated for FY ’16.
The public-private cis-lunar habitation new start was a surprise to Charles Miller, president of NexGen Space LLC and a former NASA senior adviser for commercial space. Miller told Defense Daily Tuesday that Congress, in a bipartisan effort, had been pushing NASA to develop a habitation module and the White House responded with funding.
NASA requested $1.6 billion for its Crew and Cargo program, an 8.5 percent increase from the FY ’15 operating plan. NASA also requested $1.2 billion for Commercial Crew, a 47 percent increase over the $805 million enacted in the FY ’15 operating plan. NASA predicts Commercial Crew funding steadily decreasing in the future. Miller said this is expected as Commercial Crew will be entering operations. NASA expects to request $732 million for Commercial Crew in FY ’18 and $173 million in FY ’19.
NASA in FY ’17 decided to combine the Crew and Cargo program and the Commercial Crew (CCP) program in the portfolio of space transportation. CCP was previously in the exploration account under the commercial spaceflight theme. The Crew and Cargo program, formerly known as the International Space Station (ISS) Crew and Cargo Transportation project) was in the space operations account within the ISS program.
NASA requested $569 million for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), 8 percent less than enacted in FY ’16. The telescope, developed by Northrop Grumman [NOC], is set for launch in October 2018. Key goals planned for FY ’17 include delivering the optical telescope element/integrated science to Johnson Space Center, Texas, for testing; conducting optical telescope element/integrated science cryovacuum testing; integrating the cryocooler compressor assembly into the spacecraft bus and delivering the flight solar array to the observatory for integration. A system integration review (SIR) is also set for July 2017.
NASA requested $1.1 billion for its Orion space capsule, down nearly 12 percent from the roughly $1.3 billion enacted in FY ’16. NASA requested $1.3 billion for the rocket that Orion will ride on, the Space Launch System (SLS), nearly 34 percent less than enacted in FY ’16. Orion is developed by Lockheed Martin [LMT] while SLS is developed by Boeing [BA]. NASA also requested $429 million for the Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) that will go with Orion and SLS, a 5 percent increase from FY ’16.
Orion, SLS and EGS, in FY ’17, will continue to prepare for the EM-1 mission, the first pairing of Orion and SLS. NASA has not yet set a date for EM-1. Orion will also finalize EM-1 design and development engineering, complete the structural build and test the EM-1 crew module, among others. EGS will finalize efforts in the vehicle assembly building, the launch pad and other ground support systems to ensure readiness for EM-1 support.
NASA spokeswoman Kathryn Hambleton said Tuesday NASA is planning for a EM-1 launch date of no later than November 2018. She also said NASA serves as the prime integrator for the discrete EGS projects.
In other key NASA programs, the agency requested $1.4 billion for ISS, down 6 percent from the $1.5 billion enacted the FY ’15 operating plan. NASA’s request of $790 million for aeronautics is up nearly 24 percent from the $640 million enacted in FY ’16.
CCP partners with the United States private sector to develop and operate safe, reliable and affordable crew transportation to low earth orbit (LEO). Within Crew and Cargo, NASA purchases cargo transportation to ISS under the Cargo Resupply Services (CRS) contracts with Orbital ATK [OA] and Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX). Crew transportation to ISS is purchased under this account from the Russian Space Agency Roscosmos.
NASA’s Crew and Cargo request for FY ’17 will fund six astronaut rides to ISS on Soyuz. NASA also expects Orbital ATK to launch two CRS missions and SpaceX to launch three CRS flights.