khayo@sonia.math.ucla.edu (Eric Behr) (05/06/88)
NASA ADMINISTRATOR SOUNDS ALARM ON PROPOSED BUDGET CUTS
May 5, 1988
RELEASE: 88-60
"The civil space program will be stopped in its tracks" if
Congress approves an FY 89 NASA budget level now being considered
by the House of Representatives, NASA Administrator Dr. James C.
Fletcher warned today. "Lack of adequate funding for NASA will
literally paralyze the program and bring to a halt the 30 years
of progress that began after the shock of Sputnik in 1957."
Dr. Fletcher, who has said repeatedly that this is a "make
or break" budget year for NASA, issued his toughest warning yet
about the consequences of reducing the NASA funding levels
proposed by the Administration.
"The fact is that the American civil space program -- your
space program -- and the source of so much American pride,
prestige, and scientific and technological progress, faces a
crisis unparalleled in its lifetime," he said at a Capitol Hill
symposium today. "We will fall even further behind at a time
when the Soviet Union, Japan and our European allies are moving
steadily ahead.
"It is not a pretty prospect to imagine the United States as
a second-rate, or even a third-rate power in space. But that is
what this country will quickly become if Congress doesn't act
responsibly and give NASA the resources it needs to do its job,"
the NASA Administrator said.
In February, the White House requested $11.48 billion for
NASA in FY 89. The proposed funding level would give NASA the
resources needed to carry forward ongoing programs in space and
aeronautics, including returning the Space Shuttle to flight on a
sensible flight rate. It also would support the first steps of
the President's new National Space Policy, which commits the
United States to space leadership as a national objective and,
for the first time, sets the long-range goal of expanding human
presence beyond Earth orbit into the solar system.
Subsequently, the House of Representatives passed an FY 89
budget resolution that would slash NASA's budget request to $10.2
billion. The Senate approved a budget resolution with overall
NASA funding levels much closer to the Administration's
request. Conferees from both Houses are currently meeting to
resolve the differences. Congress also must act on the
authorization legislation and the actual appropriations for NASA.
Following announcement of his new National Space Policy, the
President "backed it with a budget request for NASA that would
ensure that the space program recovers and begins to move out on
the road to leadership in decades ahead. That budget is not
extravagant. It merely allows NASA to do its job for now," Dr.
Fletcher said.
"Budget levels being discussed right here on Capitol Hill,
even as we meet, would spell death to the Space Station, the key
to our future in space. Major commitments to our Space Station
international partners would have to be abrogated. Advance
astronomy observatories that are designed to be serviced from the
Space Station will never get off the ground," he continued.
"Scientific research that could lead to new products and
processes to benefit life on Earth will never take place. And
the Shuttle program, on which so much attention is focused today,
will be able to operate only at a reduced flight rate in the
years ahead."
"The NASA budget, only less than 1 percent of the entire
Federal budget, is probably the best investment we can make as a
nation," Dr. Fletcher said. "If we fail to make that investment,
the fire and spirit will have gone from NASA and the civil space
program will have come to a grinding halt."
Dr. Fletcher made his remarks at a symposium on "Science
Education: A Challenge for Excellence in America's Future." It
was held at the Hart Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C.,
and was sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution and the
Achievement Awards for College Scientists Foundation.
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Visitor Center Grand Opening Set For May 17
May 5, 1988
Release No. 88-33
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, will have a
grand opening ceremony to celebrate the recent completion of the
remodeling of its Visitor Center (VC) on May 17 at 12:30 p.m.
The VC offers a variety of displays, from an educational exhibit
on Dr. Robert H. Goddard, America's pioneer rocketeer, to expositions
on how space science is studied, how spacecraft are used and on
how Goddard Space Flight Center plays a major role in the national
space program.
This ceremony, for invited guests and Goddard employees,
marks the completion of the second half of the VC renovation. The
first part was completed in October 1986 and features displays on
current and future projects of the Nation's space program.
With the remodeling completed, the new exhibits not only bring the VC
up to date, but emphasize the Center's important role in pursuing the
space Agency's mission.
The opening ceremonies for the new exhibit area will begin at
12:30 p.m. with a welcoming from Center Director Dr. John W. Townsend,
Jr. From 12:45 to 2 p.m., there will be a reception and open house.
The NASA/Goddard VC is located in Greenbelt, MD (from Washington
take the Baltimore-Washington Parkway north to Route 193 East. Remain
on 193 for two miles. Continue past the Goddard Space Flight Center's
main entrance and turn left on to Soil Conservation Road. The VC
is on the left. From Baltimore, take the Baltimore-Washington
Parkway south to the Beltsville Agriculture Research Center exit
and follow the signs to the VC).
The VC is open to the public five days a week, Wednesday through
Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free. Advance
reservations are requested for groups of 20 or more visitors.
For more information call (301) 286-8955 or the VC at (301)
286-8981.
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Eric