AAS ACTION ALERT 2004-04
[Mailed to US members from aas.org
at 9:20am 10 MAY 2004] ___________________________________________________________
AAS ACTION ALERT 2004-4
Sidney Wolff, Chair of AAS Committee
on Astronomy and
Public Policy
Roger Blandford, HEAD Chair
and
Kevin B. Marvel, Deputy Executive Officer
Summary
This Action Alert asks AAS members
to contact their members of Congress in support of the NASA Explorer program,
which
received reduced funding levels in the President's FY 2005
budget proposal.
Background
The President's budget proposal is
submitted to Congress
each year in February, near the time of the state of the
union address. The budget serves as a planning guide for
the next five fiscal years and represents the President's
requested funding levels from Congress for all
discretionary government spending.
Agencies, such as NASA, NSF and DOE,
which all fund
astronomy or astrophysics research (in addition to other
agencies like the Department of Defense and the Department
of Commerce, through NOAA) work with the Office of
Management and Budget beginning nearly 2 years prior to the
fiscal year in question to map out their budgetary
requirements, new program starts and other details.
This year, several cuts were proposed
by the President for
programs within NASA's Office of Space Science. AAS Action
Alerts have already been distributed asking for members to
write their member of Congress on the cuts to the Sun-Earth
Connection enterprise and the Beyond Einstein initiative.
These Action Alerts can be found at
www.aas.org/policy/ActionAlerts.html.
The final significant reduction proposed
by the President
is potentially very damaging to the astronomy community, a
cut to the Explorer program.
The Explorer program, which began
in 1958, is "meant to
provide frequent flight opportunities for world-class
scientific investigations from space utilizing innovative,
streamlined and efficient management approaches within the
following space science themes; Astronomical Search for
Origins and Planetary Systems, Structure and Evolution of
the Universe, The Sun-Earth Connection. The program seeks
to enhance public awareness of, and appreciation for, space
science and to incorporate educational and public outreach
activities as integral parts of space science
investigations." [quote from the NASA Explorers program
homepage http://fpd.gsfc.nasa.gov/410/index.html.]
Using these special management methods,
the program is
designed to provide a low-cost funding source for unique
and creative missions in several size ranges including the
well-known MIDEX (not greater than $180M), SMEX (not
greater than $120M) and UNEX (not greater than $15M).
Missions of opportunity and international partnerships are
also supported under the program.
The roster of successful missions
is an impressive one. On
the astronomical side there are: ACE, CHIPS, FUSE, GALEX,
HETE-2, RHESSI, RXTE, SWAS, TRACE AND WMAP. In addition there is a comparably
successful space physics program.
Essentially every explorer mission has produced
transformative scientific results ranging from probing
magnetic flares to determining the size, shape and contents
of the Universe.
The Request
The President's budget "proposed
a reduced budget for the
Explorer program resulting in a reduced flight rate for
future Explorer missions. The available funding for future
Explorers (includes SMEX selections from the current
Phase A studies as well as missions solicited through
future AO's) will not support the baseline plan, which was:
(a) Downselect to two SMEX's for launch in 2007 and 2008,
and
(b) Issue an AO this year for MIDEX's to launch in 2010 and
2011.
NASA is working the budgets now, but
it appears that the
reduced Explorer Program budget will support the following
options:
. Option A: (a) Downselect to two SMEX's for launch in 2008
and 2009, and (b) Issue an AO in 2006 for MIDEX's to launch
around 2012 or later.
. Option B: (a) Downselect to one SMEX for launch in 2008,
and (b) Issue an AO in 2005 for a MIDEX to launch around
2011.
This reduced flight schedule is a
blow to the astronomy
community.
Remembering that the President proposes
and the Congress
disposes, AAS members are requested to contact their member
of Congress to request that the cuts to the Explorer line
be restored to the level proposed in the FY 2003 budget
request. It is especially important to also write to the
Chairs and Ranking Members of the VA-HUD-IA Appropriations
Subcommittees, whose addresses are given below. AAS members
can look up the contact information for their members of
Congress using the AAS Zip-to-It feature, available through
this link: www.aas.org/policy/aas.bios.html
Phone calls, FAXes and Letters are
all useful means of
communication. Email is still not processed uniformly by
all congressional offices.
VA-HUD-IA Appropriations Subcommittee
Contacts
The Honorable Senator Christopher
S. Bond
Senate VA-HUD-IA Appropriations Subcommittee
United States Senate
274 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510-2503
Phone: 202-224-5721
FAX: 202-224-8149
The Honorable Barbara A. Mikulski
Senate VA-HUD-IA Appropriations Subcommittee
United States Senate
709 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510-2003
Phone: 202-224-4654
FAX: 202-224-8858
The Honorable James T. Walsh
House VA-HUD-IA Appropriations Subcommittee
United States House of Representatives
2369 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-3225
Phone: 202-225-3701
FAX: 202-225-4042
The Honorable Alan B. Mollohan
House VA-HUD-IA Appropriations Subcommittee
United States House of Representatives
2302 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-4801
Phone: 202-225-4172
FAX: 202-225-7564
Sample Letter
Dear Congressman U. V. Spectrahscahpy,
I am writing that you restore the
cuts to the NASA Explorer
Mission budget, which was proposed for significant cuts by
President Bush in his FY2005 budget proposal.
I am a professor of astronomy at the
Western Northeastern
State teachers college, which is located in your district.
I actively participate in astronomical research which is
funded in large part by the government, including NSF and
NASA. The Explorer missions have a long history of
significant scientific successes and also serve as vehicles
for the education of future astrophysicists.
The cuts proposed by President Bush
would significantly
delay the selection and development of new Explorer class
missions. Nearly every explorer mission has produced
transformative scientific results from probing magnetic
flares to determining the size, shape and contents of the
Universe itself.
If I can ever be of service to you in the future, please do
not hesitate to contact me immediately.
Humbly at your service,
Dr. Stahrs R. Twinklin, Professor
Western Northeastern State Teachers College
Urdistrict, Urstate 31415-9265
___________________________________________________________
To read previous AAS Informational
Emails visit
www.aas.org/policy/InformationalEmails.html
To read previous AAS Action Alerts visit
www.aas.org/policy/ActionAlerts.html
Comments and questions to: marvel@aas.org
Changes of address to: address@aas.org
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