Of some interest is that the bill, unlike most NASA auth bills, considers only ONE YEAR — 2014, for which money is already appropriated. Most auth bills develop long-range strategy for three years that can be used to guide appropriators. Not here. That says to me that this particular bill will be next to worthless for setting longer range goals for the agency, and they’ll just end up doing another one next year with a new congress.

No big surprises, though the legislation makes explicit a plan for human exploration that is NOT critically dependent on the achievement of milestones by specific dates. Of course, having said that, the bill then specifies the first crewed mission of Orion on SLS will happen “as close to 2020 as possible”.

The bill carefully spells out the need for a Mars Human Exploration roadmap (due in 1 year and to be updated every 4 years) to define specific technologies and capabilities necessary. This roadmap constitutes what they call a “stepping stone approach” to space exploration.

A curious proviso on commercial crew. NASA is instructed to provide the committee with details about different cost options for commercial crew support. The implication is that they’re reaching for how little they can get away with spending.

One other observation is that Congressman Wolf tends to ask a lot of questions based on things reported in the media. In other words he doesn’t know enough about NASA to ask questions of his own, and he’s not interested enough in NASA to be focused on the future of NASA.

That to me verifies that at least the House is not interested in pushing for an expanded budget for NASA so they can use the SLS. It was asked about using the SLS for the proposed Europa mission, but as Bolden stated the Science Directorate has to make the decision on that, and they are still evaluating the use of the SLS. And of course that is only one mission for the SLS at some indeterminate point in the future – where is the preponderance of payloads that require the SLS and only the SLS? Did I miss something at the hearing?

you are an illustration of insanity.. banging your head into that same brick wall expecting a different result.

That is why I believe it was congress doing the telling. Griffin, didn’t want to use SRB’s when he was doing the designing away from NASA, but on his return suddenly he was an ATK supporter? Didn’t wash for me, the UTAH delegation probably made it pretty clear, you want your monster rocket then you utilize this hardware.

Congress wants the gap. No launch before Orion. No launch manned before the next presidential election.

The anger when one of CC entrants engineers was noticed to be working on a docking adapter concept to allow early access to ISS was proof of that if nothing else. Not SpaceX, incidently….

“Order Plus Counter Order Equals Disorder.”

In 2008 the thought was for commercial providers to close the gap to 2014

“I’m less and less inclined to think that’s the right thing to do, because the closest we could close that gap in 2014, and that doesn’t do much for station,” said Jeff Bingham, a staffer on the space subcommittee of the Senate Commerce Committee. “So COTS D becomes the next candidate on the table.”

“The COTS conundrum”, 28 JUL 2008 ( http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1179/1 )

And from the same article to close the gap to 2011 if possible:

The Senate version of the NASA authorization legislation currently under consideration, S. 3270, does contain language specifically directing NASA to move ahead with a version of COTS D. It calls on NASA to enter into Space Act Agreements with at least two teams to develop commercial crew capabilities that would be available by the end of fiscal year 2011 (“or as soon thereafter as is practicable”), and authorizes $150 million in fiscal year 2009 for starting that effort. Similar language was included in the version of the bill that the House passed in June.

Congress will never, ever accept blame for screwing up human spaceflight.

http://oig.nasa.gov/audits/reports/FY13/IG-14-001.pdf

For the current fiscal year, if you do the math it works out to about 85%, or a 15% cut.