Posted: Sun, Feb 1, 2004, 2:21 PM ET (1921 GMT)
NASA plans to take money from the space shuttle, ISS, and launch vehicle technology programs, among others, to pay for the first five years of the president's new space exploration initiative, SPACE.com reported late Friday. Relying on budget documents obtained by the publication, it reported that half of the $11.6 billion NASA plans to transfer from other programs to pay for the initiative will come from phasing out the Orbital Space Plane and Next Generation Launch Technology programs. An additional $1.5 billion will come from the shuttle program, while $1.2 billion will come form eliminating research programs on the ISS that are not linked to the exploration program. NASA plans to defer several Earth and space science missions, freeing up $2.7 billion, although none of those programs will be cancelled. NASA will delay the launch of the nuclear-powered Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter mission from 2012 to 2015, but will provide continued funding for the New Horizons mission to Pluto. The plan also calls for a lunar orbiter mission in 2008 and a lunar lander in 2009.
