US Congress has decided to allocate $19 billion to the world’s premier space agency, NASA. NASA will use the money to put into place a shuttle mission and design a new vehicle for heavy lifting. The act was passed this week by the House of Representatives and the Senate.
The approval means that NASA officials can now move ahead with the plans President Obama set out for them. The act named NASA Reauthorization Act is now waiting for Obama’s signature.
The act was passed on Thursday and NASA officials thanked the government for the contributions. The government will decided about the allocation of the money after the Midterm Elections on November 2nd.
Talking about the development, NASA's deputy chief Lori Garver said that the newly passed bill, is exactly what NASA leaders were hoping for as a birthday present. "To have the leadership of the Congress take that step is important right now because you have the NASA work force, I think, really looking for the direction for the future," Garver told Space.com earlier this week.
We all know that know that NASA is feeling the punch of the economic downturn and the agency has ended its space shuttle program this year after remaining the pioneer for human spaceflight for the past 30 years. Last week, NASA contractor United Space Alliance laid off nearly 1,400 shuttle workers. United Space Alliance is a joint venture by Boeing and Lockheed Martin. Lockheed Martin built the 15-story external fuel tanks for the shuttle fleet.
