NASA Appropriations and Authorizations:
A Fact Sheet
Daniel Morgan
Specialist in Science and Technology Policy
February 3, 2015
Congressional Research Service
7-5700
www.crs.gov
R43419
NASA Appropriations and Authorizations: A Fact Sheet
n the current fiscal environment, congressional deliberations about the National Aeronautics
and Space Administration (NASA) often focus on the availability of funding. This fact sheet
Iprovides data on past and current NASA appropriations as well as proposed NASA
appropriations for FY2016 and proposed authorizations of NASA appropriations for FY2016.
NASA issues of congressional interest are discussed further in CRS Report R43144, NASA:
Issues for Authorization, Appropriations, and Oversight in the 114th Congress. Additional
information on appropriations legislation affecting NASA is provided in CRS Report R43509,
Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies: FY2015 Appropriations, and similar reports
for other years.1
Table 1 shows appropriations for NASA from FY2010 through FY2015. The data for FY2010
through FY2014 include supplemental appropriations, rescissions, transfers, reprogramming, and,
in the case of FY2013, sequestration. They are taken from NASA’s congressional budget
justifications for FY2012 through FY2016. Congressional budget justifications are available on
the NASA website (http://www.nasa.gov/news/budget/) for the current year and for previous
years back to FY2002. The table data for FY2015 are as enacted by the Consolidated and Further
Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015 (P.L. 113-235). For amounts not specified in that act, see
pp. H9348-H9349 of the explanatory statement, published in the Congressional Record on
December 11, 2014.
Table 2 shows enacted appropriations for FY2015 (as above); the Administration’s request for
FY2016; and proposed authorizations of appropriations for FY2016 in two NASA authorization
bills from the 113th Congress: the Senate bill S. 1317 (as reported on December 10, 2014); and the
House minority bill H.R. 2616 (as introduced on July 8, 2013).2
Figure 1 shows NASA’s total annual budget authority from the agency’s establishment in
FY1958 to FY2015, in both current dollars and inflation-adjusted FY2015 dollars.
1 See, for example, CRS Report R43080, Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies: FY2014 Appropriations;
CRS Report R42440, Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies: FY2013 Appropriations; CRS Report
R41721, Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies: FY2012 Appropriations; CRS Report R41161, Commerce,
Justice, Science, and Related Agencies: FY2011 Appropriations; and CRS Report R40644, Commerce, Justice,
Science, and Related Agencies: FY2010 Appropriations.
2 Amounts that these bills would have authorized for FY2014 and FY2015 are not shown. Two other NASA
authorization bills in the 113th Congress, H.R. 2687 (ordered reported on July 18, 2013) and H.R. 4412 (passed by the
House on June 9, 2014) are not included in the table as they did not include authorizations for FY2016.
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NASA Appropriations and Authorizations: A Fact Sheet
Table 1. NASA Appropriations, FY2010-FY2015
(budget authority in $ millions)
FY2010
FY2011
FY2012
FY2013
FY2014
FY2015
Science $4,498
$4,920
$5,074
$4,782
$5,148
$5,245
Earth Science
1,439
1,722
1,761
1,659
1,825
1,773
Planetary Science
1,364
1,451
1,501
1,275
1,346
1,438
Astrophysics
647
631
648
617
678
685
James Webb Space Telescope
439
477
519
628
658
645
Heliophysics
608
639
645
603
641
662
Education
0
0
0
0
0
42
Aeronautics 497
534
569
530
566
651
Space Technology
275
456
574
615
576
596
Exploration 3,626
3,821
3,707
3,706
4,113
4,357
Exploration Systems Development
3,288
2,982
3,002
2,884
3,115
3,245
- Orion MPCV
—
1,196
1,200
1,114
1,197
1,194
- Space Launch System
—
1,536
1,497
1,415
1,600
1,700
- Exploration Ground Systems
—
250
305
355
318
351
Commercial Spaceflight
39
607
406
525
696
805
Exploration R&D
299
232
300
297
302
306
Space Operations
6,142
5,146
4,184
3,725
3,774
3,828
Space Shuttle
3,101
1,593
596
39
0
—a
International Space Station
2,313
2,714
2,790
2,776
2,964
—a
Space and Flight Support
728
840
798
910
810
—a
Education 180
145
136
116
117
119
Space Grant
46
46
39
37
40
40
EPSCoR
25
25
17
17
18
18
MUREP
31
29
30
28
30
32
Other
79
47
50
34
29
29
Safety, Security, and Mission Supportb 3,018 2,956 2,994 2,711 2,793 2,759
Construction and EC&R
453
433
495
661c 522 419
Inspector General
36
36
38
35
38
37
Total 18,724
18,448
17,770d
16,879c 17,647 18,010
Sources: FY2010-FY2014 from NASA FY2012-FY2016 congressional budget justifications. FY2015 from P.L.
113-235 and pp. H9348-H9349 of the explanatory statement, Congressional Record, December 11, 2014.
Notes: Some totals may not add because of rounding. MPCV = Multipurpose Crew Vehicle. R&D = Research
and Development. EPSCoR = Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research. MUREP = Minority
University Research Education Program. EC&R = Environmental Compliance and Remediation.
a. Not specified in P.L. 113-235 or the explanatory statement.
b. Cal ed Cross-Agency Support before FY2015.
c. Includes $14 million (after sequestration) of supplemental funding from the Disaster Relief Appropriations
Act, 2013 (P.L. 113-2) that is not shown in the NASA FY2015 congressional budget justification.
d. Includes rescission of $1 million from prior-year accounts not shown in the table.
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NASA Appropriations and Authorizations: A Fact Sheet
Table 2. NASA Appropriations, FY2015-FY2016, and Authorizations, FY2016
(budget authority in $ millions)
Appropriations
Authorizations
FY2015
FY2016
FY2016
S. 1317
H.R. 2616
Enacted Request (113th)
(113th)
Science $5,245
$5,289
$5,316 $5,306
Earth Science
1,773
1,947
1,872
1,849
Planetary Science
1,438
1,361
1,500
1,500
Astrophysics
685
709
687
700
James Webb Space Telescope
645
620
620
620
Heliophysics
662
651
637
637
Education
42
0
0
0
Aeronautics 651
571
593
594
Space Technology
596
725
665
720
Exploration 4,357
4,506
4,660
4,534
Exploration Systems Development
3,245
2,863
3,485
3,474
- Orion MPCV
1,194
1,096
1,250
1,260
- Space Launch System
1,700
1,357
1,800
1,800
- Exploration Ground Systems
351
410
435
414
Commercial Spaceflight
805
1,244
825
700
Exploration R&D
306
399
350
360
Space Operations
3,828
4,004
4,010
4,133
International Space Station
—a
3,106
3,196 3,320
Space and Flight Support
—a
898
814 814
Education 119
89
142
136
Space Grant
40
24
—
—
EPSCoR
18
9
—
—
MUREP
32
30
—
—
Other
29
26
—
—
Safety, Security, and Mission Support
2,759
2,843
2,965 2,937
Construction & EC&R
419
465
441
471
Inspector General
37
37
39
37
Total 18,010
18,529
18,831
18,868
Sources: FY2015 enacted from P.L. 113-235 and pp. H9348-H9349 of the explanatory statement, Congressional
Record, December 11, 2014. FY2016 request from NASA FY2016 congressional budget justification.
Authorizations from S. 1317 as reported and H.R. 2616 as introduced.
Notes: Some totals may not add because of rounding. MPCV = Multipurpose Crew Vehicle. R&D = Research
and Development. EPSCoR = Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research. MUREP = Minority
University Research Education Program. EC&R = Environmental Compliance and Remediation.
a. Not specified in P.L. 113-235 or the explanatory statement.
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NASA Appropriations and Authorizations: A Fact Sheet
Figure 1. NASA Funding, FY1958-FY2015
Source: FY1958-FY2008 from National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Aeronautics and Space Report of
the President: Fiscal Year 2008 Activities, http://history.nasa.gov/presrep2008.pdf, Table D-1A. FY2009-FY2013 from
NASA congressional budget justifications, FY2011-FY2015. FY2014 from P.L. 113-76. FY2015 from P.L. 113-235.
Current dol ars deflated to FY2015 dol ars using GDP (chained) price index from President’s budget for FY2015,
Historical Table 10.1, http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/Historicals.
Note: Transition quarter between FY1976 and FY1977 not shown.
Author Contact Information
Daniel Morgan
Specialist in Science and Technology Policy
dmorgan@crs.loc.gov, 7-5849
Congressional Research Service
4