ARLINGTON, Va. --- The House of Representatives recent action fully funding the nation's Vision for Space Exploration is a huge boost for the future of space and aeronautics programs, AIA president and CEO John Douglass said.
On Friday House members endorsed the new vision, which will send astronauts back to the moon and onto Mars in the coming decades, in passing NASA Authorization Act of 2005 (H.R. 3070) by an overwhelming vote of 383 to 15.
H.R. 3070 fully funds the nation's new exploration plan at $6.4 billion for the coming fiscal year and provides $962 million for basic aeronautics research.
"In adopting the NASA Authorization Act the House took significant steps to secure the leadership of the United States in peaceful space exploration," Douglass said. "The bill also advances the critical research conducted by NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate, including programs that support the modernization of the nation's air transportation system."
The bill directs NASA to execute the vision, first announced last year by President Bush, through a plan to return to the Moon no later than 2020 and to deploy a new Crew Exploration Vehicle early in the next decade. It also instructs the agency to formulate a national aeronautics policy for the allocation of resources through 2020.
During the spring and summer, AIA worked closely with members of the House Science Committee, the panel that has jurisdiction over NASA's budget, to keep the exploration plan on schedule and to urge the Administration's support for a comprehensive long-term plan on aeronautics investments.
Founded in 1919, the Aerospace Industries Association represents the nation's leading manufacturers and suppliers of civil, military, and business aircraft, helicopters, UAVs, space systems, aircraft engines, materiel, and related components, equipment services, and information technology.
