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NASA requests $24.8 billion in 2022, proposes to cancel SOFIA again
NASA released its fiscal year 2022 budget request May 28, asking for $24.8 billion to support a number of new and existing science and exploration programs but also proposing once again to cancel an airborne astronomical observatory.
[...] The $7.93 billion for NASA's science programs is the largest ever, Nelson said, eclipsing the $7.3 billion the agency received in 2021. "The Biden administration is proving that science is back," he said. "The record funding in the science area will help NASA address the climate crisis and advance robotic missions that will pave the way for astronauts to explore the moon and Mars."
[...] NASA's planetary science program, though, would see a larger increase of $500 million to $3.2 billion in 2022. That additional funding would primarily go to a new Mars Sample Return program, with $653.2 million requested for it in the budget. It would also ramp up funding for the development of the Near Earth Object Surveyor mission, a small space telescope to search for potentially hazardous asteroids.
Unlike budget requests during the Trump administration, the fiscal year 2022 budget proposal includes funding for several science missions frequently targeted for cancellation, such as the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope and the PACE and CLARREO Pathfinder Earth science missions.
However, as with the 2021 budget request, NASA is proposing to cancel the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), a modified Boeing 747 that carries a 2.5-meter telescope to perform observations above much of infrared-absorbing water vapor in the lower atmosphere.
See also: NASA budget goes all-in on science, stays the course on Moon lander
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 30 2021, @07:42AM (3 children)
Eclipsing?!? $7.93 is eclipsing $7.3? That's like saying my new 278G SSD drive is eclipsing my old 256G SSD. Largest ever? Cool! But only by a little over 8%. Maybe just leave it at that and save the "eclipsing" hyperbole for a truly exciting shift in NASA funding.
"The Biden administration is proving that science is back,"
OK, call me crazy, but the science programs come out of the over all NASA budget, in which they're requesting $24.8 billion this year. Less than the $25.2 billion requested by Trump. That amount isn't approved by Biden or anyone else yet. It's a "request" from NASA, not a grant by the administration. Congress may decide to give more or less than that request. The science programs portion of that budget is determined by NASA itself. So it's more like saying that "NASA is proving that science is back". And like it or not, NASA's budget increase year after year during Trump's administration, where as NASA's budget suffered "eclipsing" cutbacks during the Obama administration. It's far too soon to be crediting Biden for anything at this point (although I hope he pushes for more NASA spending).
https://www.thebalance.com/nasa-budget-current-funding-and-history-3306321 [thebalance.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 30 2021, @07:51AM
I take it you've never seen an eclipse.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Runaway1956 on Sunday May 30 2021, @11:04AM (1 child)
Without hyperbole, politicians, reporters, and the entire news industry would all be out of work. More, the news industry is under a blanket mandate to praise Biden with every sunrise, so, it is what it is.
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 30 2021, @05:27PM
> the news industry is under a blanket mandate to praise
Bidenpower with every sunriseFTFY