United States Government Space Budget

U.S. Civil Space Budgets

Economy: Space Economy – TSR 2013

Economy: Space Economy - TSR 2013 an annual review of the commercial space infrastructure and support industries and space-based products and services used on Earth. This edition also delves into the…

2012 – U.S. Civil Space Budgets

NASA’s FY 2012 budget, provided as a Congressional appropriation through Public Law 112-55, The Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2012, represented a ##% decrease from the agency’s FY 2011 enacted budget of $## billion.

2011 – U.S. Civil Space Budgets – Snapshot

NASA’s FY 2011 actual budget, reached as a result of seven CRs and Public Law 112-10¸ decreased by ##% from the agency’s FY 2010 actual budget, including FY 2010 funds received from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act economic stimulus package. Operating under the series of CRs impacted NASA’s ability to effectively implement its programs. In 2010, Congress and the President agreed to cancel the planned Constellation Program. However, as a result of the CRs during FY 2011, NASA was required to continue spending funds on its existing programs, including Constellation. While flexibility in internal funds allocation allowed NASA to focus much of its Constellation spending during early 2011 on elements of the program which will continue in future years, including the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) and the J-2X rocket engine, funds were nonetheless spent on elements of the Constellation program which would not continue in the future.

2010 – U.S. Civil Space Budgets – Snapshot

In certain agencies, such as the USDA, space spending is distributed in small amounts across the agency for activities such as the purchase of remote sensing data, and therefore space budgets are not systematically tracked. In other agencies, such as the Department of Interior, space spending is concentrated in a single organizational or functional line item. Within the DOI, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) operates the Landsat Earth observation satellite program and associated mapping and data products. In 2010, USGS spent approximately $## million dollars on Geographic Research, Investigations, and Remote Sensing, which included the Landsat program and a geospatial data program.

2009 – U.S. Civil Space Budgets – Snapshot

In the United States, most civil space activities are led by NASA. Major activities at NASA in 2009 included continued operations of the Space Shuttle and International Space Station programs, development of the Constellation program, and numerous space and planetary sciences missions. Science activities in 2009 included the successful launch of NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) and Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS). These were the first U.S. spacecraft to orbit the Moon since the Clementine Mission in 1994. NASA human spaceflight milestones achieved in 2009 included the successful completion of five Space Shuttle flights, including the final mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope.

2008 – U.S. Civil Space Budgets – Snapshot

The United States budget for NASA was $## billion in FY 2008 and the budget request for FY 2009 was $## billion. Consistent with past allocations, the FY 2010 budget request of $## billion represents about ##%, or a little more than half a penny for each dollar in the president’s total budget request of $## trillion. Major 2009 activities will include up to five shuttle missions on the path to the planned retirement of the Space Shuttle in 2010, ongoing coordination of final ISS assembly, and a variety of scientific missions. To provide a more detailed view of the NASA program activity, Exhibit 1n shows a summary by program through 2013 based on NASA’s FY 2009 Budget Request, which includes appropriated funds for FY 2008.

2007 – U.S. Civil Space Budgets

NASA was allocated $## billion for FY 2007. This is slightly less than the 2006 operating budget of $## billion. For FY 2008, NASA received $## billion. An agency summary from NASA’s proposed FY 2008 budget is shown in Exhibit 1r. This exhibit highlights the breakdown of NASA funding, and shows increases of ##% to ##% per year through 2012.

2005 – U.S. Civil Space Budgets

NASA’s FY 2006 budget is approximately $## billion. The NASA FY 2006 Budget Request forecasts relatively small (## percent to ## percent) annual increases in the total NASA budget, bringing the total budget to $## billion by FY 2010.