The document was released to the press on February 13, 2012

Feb 14, 2012 07:49 GMT  ·  By

The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration requested a budget of $17.7 billion (€13.46 billion) for Fiscal Year 2013. NASA says that this level of funding will be sufficient to allow the United States to maintain its leadership status in space.

The budget includes $627.6 million for the James Webb Space Telescope, the successor of Hubble. This will be the most complex and advanced observatory ever deployed, and is currently scheduled to launch in 2018. Estimates place its overall cost at around $8.8 billion.

NASA will also continue to develop the Space Launch System (SLS), a new heavy-lift rocket meant to be used for space exploration, and the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV), a four-seat, manned space capsule that will take astronauts to Mars by 2035.

The first test flight for the Orion MPCV is scheduled for 2014, as initially intended. According to NASA, the new budget is very balanced, and allows room for ground-breaking discoveries, all while strengthening the agency's presence both on Earth and throughout the solar system.

A total of $4 billion were requested for space operations, while $4 billion were proposed for exploration activities conducted within the Human Exploration Operations mission directorate.

Funds for the International Space Station (ISS) are also covered by the proposal, as is the complete shutdown for the Space Shuttle Program and related activities. NASA announces a request of $669 million for space technology and $552 million for aeronautics research.

The agency's science budget – including Earth sciences, the JWST, planetary sciences, heliophysics and astrophysics – will be worth around $4.9 billion in FY2013. An important portion of the overall budget – around $830 million – will go towards supporting the private sector in developing spacecraft.

Companies such as Boeing, Orbital Sciences Corporation and the Space Exploration technologies Corporation will continue to develop their spacecraft throughout FY2013 with NASA funds. Other companies may join them as well, although that is uncertain at this point.

“This budget in-sources jobs, creates capabilities here at home – and strengthens our workforce, all while opening the next great chapter in American exploration,” a statement from NASA Administrator Charles Bolden says.

“And as we reach for new heights in space, we're creating new jobs right here on Earth, helping to support an economy that's built to last,” the document goes on to add.

“This budget puts us on course to explore farther into space than ever before, revealing the unknown and fueling the nation's economy for years to come,” NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver says.

“We are committed to ensuring that our astronauts are once again launched from U.S. soil on American-made spacecraft, and this budget provides the funds to make this a reality,” she adds.

“The 2013 budget moves us forward into tangible implementation of a sustainable and affordable exploration program,” concludes Elizabeth Robinson, chief financial officer at NASA.

Several summaries of the budget, as well as the entire document in .pdf format, are available here.