Budget Cuts

President Obama announced plans today to cut or eliminate 121 programs across a range of domestic and military spending totaling some $17 billion in this year's Federal outlays. The President acknowledged the programs targeted are small and that the total cut was also small, but he argued this is a first step in a process to bring Federal spending under control while maintaining necessary government capabilities.

Seventeen billion dollars is an interesting figure. It roughly equals NASA's entire budget for last year, which means it is more than was spent on the entire space program; part of NASA's budget goes for aeronautical programs, the first "A" in NASA. The new Constellation program was designed to require only modest increases in the NASA budget well down the road. If international and/or private partners come into the program, even that increase could be reduced or eliminated.

Of course, Congress may or may not agree to the President's cuts. Because they are so small, the White House might decide not to go to the mat over them if powerful people in Congress threaten to fight to keep one or another of the programs. There's also no guarantee Constellation will come in on budget. Understanding the scale of the space program in relation to total Federal spending is useful, however. We are trying to explore the universe and open space to scientific research and eventual commerce on a shoestring.