WASHINGTON – Eleven U.S. Senate Democrats have asked President Joe Biden to maintain “robust funding” from NASA’s Human Landing System (HLS) program, given uncertainty over how the agency will work with the effort.
The February 3 letter argued that the development of human lunar landers should continue as a “necessary step” for the return of humans to the moon, but did not endorse the goal of a 2024 human landing made by the Trump administration in 2019.
‘Big explosions in aerospace faced disruption as administrations changed and priorities changed. It is now time for stability if the country wants to make progress with these initiatives, ”reads the letter.
The status of the HLS program is ongoing, given the change in administrations and the limited funding that Congress has set for it in the 2021 Budget Bill (FY) 2021. NASA sought $ 3.3 billion for HLS in 2021, but Congress provided only $ 850 million, indicating that NASA will need to revamp the program by expanding schedules or reducing the number of companies involved in the effort. .
NASA has also delayed a decision on which of the three companies that won base period contracts in April 2020 – Blue Origin, Dynetics and SpaceX – will receive ‘Option A’ awards to continue the development of the lander. NASA issued two-month free extensions to the three companies on January 27, extending contracts that would expire at the end of this month.
The senators called on NASA to proceed with the election without delay. “The decision on which companies will go to the development phase was originally intended to be placed within the next 30 days, and we request that the decision not be delayed,” they wrote.
The senators also asked the White House to fund HLS in NASA’s budget request in the 2022 financial year, citing the nearly $ 1.5 billion invested in the program so far. “We recommend robust financing in FY 2022 for the continuation of the HLS program and the timely selection of companies to move on to the next phase of development and demonstration contracts,” they wrote, but did not offer a specific figure. but rather at the end of the letter for “all necessary funding for HLS.”
Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Whose state is home to Blue Origin, led the letter. Michael Bennett and John Hickenlooper of Colorado, home of Lockheed Martin, who are part of the Blue Origin team, were also signed, as were Maxar, Sierra Nevada Corporation and United Launch Alliance, who are part of the Dynetics team.
The other senators who signed the letter were Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Tim Kaine (D -Va).), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) And Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.)
Dianne Feinstein and Alex Padilla, the two Democratic senators from California, where SpaceX is based, were especially not on the list of signatories. Also absent from the letter were key Senate governors, such as Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Chair of the Senate Credit Committee, and Jeanne Shaheen (DN.H.), who chairs the subcommittee on trade, justice and science awards. , whose jurisdiction includes NASA.
While administrations traditionally announce budget requests in early February, the process is delayed when a new administration enters into service. In 2017, the Trump administration released a ‘lean’ high-level budget request in March, followed in May by the traditional detailed request. The Biden administration has not announced a schedule for its budget request for fiscal year 2022, and its nominee to head the Office of Management and Budget, Neera Tanden, is awaiting confirmation by the Senate.
The Biden administration has not provided guidance on HLS, the overall Artemis program, or other civilian space activities since taking office. Jan 20. program.
‘I’m personally interested in space. I think this is a fascinating field of study, but I have not yet spoken to our team about this particular program. Let me see if we can give you a more informed overview of this, “Psaki replied.