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Washington DC (SPX) Jul 17, 2006 Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski, D-Md., senior minority member of the Commerce, Justice and Science appropriations subcommittee, announced Friday that the full Appropriations Committee has approved her amendment to the 2007 CJS spending bill, offered with Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, chairwoman of the Science and Space subcommittee of the Senate Commerce Committee, to provide $1 billion in federal funding to pay back NASA for the costs of returning the space shuttle to flight. The funding also will reimburse critical science, aeronautics and exploration programs that were cut to pay for repairs. "NASA was hit with two tragedies - the loss of Columbia and Hurricane Katrina. The agency was never fully reimbursed in either incident, and was forced to make dramatic cuts to other programs," Mikulski said. "I am committed to restoring this agency's budget to ensure the continued safety of our astronauts, and to supporting the critical programs that are the hallmarks of their success." In 1987, Congress allocated $2.7 billion in the aftermath of the Challenger tragedy to pay for a replacement shuttle. In the aftermath of the Columbia tragedy, however, NASA was not given any additional funding to repair the remaining shuttles. Mikulski's amendment will serve as a down payment to pay back the costs of returning the shuttle to flight and restore cuts to science, aeronautics and exploration programs that were cut in order to pay for the return to flight. The $1 billion will be declared as an emergency under the terms of the budget resolution. The amendment also will provide $40 million to the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi and the Michoud Assembly Facility in Louisiana to complete repairs to the facilities resulting from damage caused by Hurricane Katrina and the other hurricanes of 2005. "With the return of the space shuttle Discovery to flight, let us honor the men and women who are working at NASA on the future innovations and discoveries that will lead us to the explorations of tomorrow," Mikulski said. In the next step of the appropriations process, the bill will move to the Senate floor for a vote, which has not yet been scheduled. Following the Senate vote, the House and Senate will meet in conference to work out the differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill, then both houses of Congress will vote on the conference report. If approved by the House and Senate, the bill next would go to President George W. Bush for his signature. Related Links Mikulski at US Senate
First Inflatable Spacecraft Mission Continues Problem Free 
Las Vegas NV (SPX) Jul 14, 2006Bigelow Aerospace has announced that the Genesis I prototype spacecraft successfully inflated and its solar arrays are deployed and supplying power to the onboard instruments. "All Systems are operating within expected parameters," said Robert T. Bigelow, the company's founder.
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