Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, have issued a statement accusing the Obama administration of deliberately attempting to undermine the development of a rocket crucial for NASA's plans for future space exploration.
The accusation comes in the wake of a story in the Wall Street Journal speculating, possibly based on a White House leak, that NASA's plans for space exploration would cost as much as $62 billion and that the White House was experiencing "sticker shock." A NASA document was subsequently released with more information concerning various scenarios for space exploration through 2025 with cost estimates.
The two senators, the chairman and ranking member of the Science and Space Subcommittee of the Senate Commerce Committee, are essentially accusing the White House and NASA of cooking the books and making up inflated budget numbers in an effort to kill a heavy lift rocket known as the Space Launch System. Development of the SLS was mandated by Congress in a 2010 NASA bill that was signed by President Barack Obama.
The accusation of bad faith and even legal malfeasance by Nelson and Hutchison represents an escalation of the toxic relations between the White House and NASA and Congress that have developed since Obama ordered the cancellation of the Constellation space exploration program. Nelson and Hutchison seem to have concluded that the White House and NASA are not interested in following the law or of seriously pursuing space exploration beyond low Earth orbit.
The accusation fits the known facts. For most of this year, NASA has been pursuing delaying tactics to stop the commencement of the SLS program. This has resulted in mass layoffs of NASA and contractor personnel due to the end of the space shuttle program who might have instead transitioned to the SLS development program. Hiring back these people may prove to be difficult after a long delay.
The suspicion is that the numbers quoted in the Wall Street Journal article and the NASA document will be used to cancel the SLS program outright as part of a deficit reduction deal, pushing off the commencement of space exploration beyond low Earth orbit indefinitely. With budget deficits in excess of a trillion dollars and President Obama demanding $450 billion for a jobs program, cancellation of the SLS would seem to be almost inevitable.
It is unclear what Nelson and Hutchison can do about their accusation. If the White House and NASA are not disposed to follow Congressional direction concerning space policy, enacting new directions would seem to be pointless. The commencement of a formal Senate investigation, including subpoenas, would now seem to be indicated. But that will take time and, in the meantime, hopes for the recommencement of space exploration by astronauts for the first time in decades are, once again, placed on hold.
Mark R. Whittington is the author of Children of Apollo and The Last Moonwalker. He has written on space subjects for a variety of periodicals, including The Houston Chronicle, The Washington Post, USA Today, the L.A. Times, and The Weekly.
