House Vote Saves Manned Space Lab : Science: Four congressmen from Orange County--home of contractor McDonnell Douglas Space Systems--support the program.
WASHINGTON — In a victory for supporters of America’s manned space program, the House on Wednesday turned back a spirited attempt to cancel construction of Space Station Freedom, the $30-billion orbiting space laboratory that NASA plans to launch by the end of the century.
By a 254-159 vote, the House defeated an amendment by Rep. Tim Roemer (D-Ind.) that would have deleted virtually all of the $2.25 billion authorized for the space station program from the 1993 federal budget.
“I’m pleased and proud of the effort that went on†to save the program, said Daniel S. Goldin, the new administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. “You take each victory one at a time.â€
The fate of the space station program is of special interest in Orange County, home of McDonnell Douglas Space Systems Co., which holds station contracts valued at $3.5 billion.
The vote to support the space station came as the House debated legislation that would allow NASA to spend as much as $47.3 billion over the next three years. Actual appropriations, including those for the space station, could be significantly smaller. A final vote on the NASA authorization bill may not come until next week.
Despite Wednesday’s victory, the debate over the space station is certain to be renewed in the coming weeks as the House and Senate work through the fiscal 1993 appropriations process.
“The real up or down vote on (the space) station is going to come on the appropriations bill,†said Rep. Bob Traxler (D-Mich.), chairman of the House Appropriations subcommittee that funds NASA.
Nevertheless, supporters of the station, including Rep. George E. Brown Jr. (D-Colton), chairman of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, said Wednesday’s vote makes cancellation of the station program by House appropriators less likely.
“You might as well scrap the fundamental space program if you’re going to scrap the space station,†Brown said. “It is an indispensable step if man is to learn how to survive in space.â€
Two Orange County congressmen who serve on Brown’s committee--Reps. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach) and Ron Packard (R-Oceanside), who represents the southern section of the county--spoke forcefully in favor of the space station. The McDonnell Douglas unit is in Huntington Beach.
Reps. Christopher Cox (R-Newport Beach) and Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove) joined Rohrabacher and Packard in voting against the Roemer amendment. Rep. William E. Dannemeyer (R-Fullerton) did not vote.
The space station is intended to serve as a laboratory for research in life sciences and microgravity, and as a jumping-off point for possible missions back to the moon and to Mars sometime in the 21st Century. It is to be assembled, piece by piece, above the Earth in a series of space shuttle missions scheduled to begin in late 1995.
NASA has estimated the cost to construct the station through the end of the decade at $30 billion, while the General Accounting Office, an arm of Congress, has said the total could reach $40 billion. Operating the station for 30 years would cost an additional $118 billion, the GAO has estimated.
During the 4 1/2-hour debate, Roemer and other opponents argued that the space station is a luxury that the United States can ill afford in tough economic times.
They said the station, originally expected to cost $8 billion, has been so stripped down that it can no longer achieve its basic scientific mission. And they contended that the high cost of the station will badly squeeze other NASA research programs, including one intended to gather environmental data about the Earth.
“The space station remains a jobs program for the aerospace industry,†said Rep. Howard Wolpe (D-Mich.)
But supporters of the program, including Brown, insisted that Space Station Freedom is essential to the future of the nation as an explorer of space.
Much of the support for the station came from members who represent districts in California, Florida, Alabama, Texas and Maryland, where about 70% of NASA’s budget is spent. However, supporters argued that the space station program will provide 75,000 jobs in 39 states. Two of the three major space station contractors are based in California and hold station contracts that together are valued at $5 billion.
“We need more things like the space station,†said Rep. Jim Bacchus (D-Fla.).
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