Legislative Background on Space Exploration
Recent Action by Congress on NASA Funding
In the wake of the space shuttle Columbia disaster of 2003, the George W. Bush Administration ordered NASA to retire the shuttle program by 2010. This date was extended until July 2011, when the Altantis took the last shuttle flight. The Administration also directed NASA to develop the Constellation program to return astronauts to the moon by the early 2020s. The agency has faced many funding challenges since then, however, with Congress and the White House now wrangling over NASA’s future priorities and programs. Obama Administration Policy and the 2010 Authorization. In April 2010, President Obama outlined his Administration’s new…
