BUDGET/NASA: “The White House is seeking to jump-start human space exploration with seed money for public-private missions orbiting the Earth and the moon, but U.S. astronauts aren’t projected to return to the lunar surface until at least the mid-2020s.
NASA’s proposed $19.9 billion budget—a roughly 3% increase from current spending—reflects President Donald Trump’s previously announced desire to enhance the use of commercial technologies and corporate partnerships aimed at eventually establishing U.S. pre-eminence ‘around and on the moon.’
But after the initial budget bump, overall National Aeronautics and Space Administration spending is expected to recede and plateau at today’s levels starting in 2020. New funding would come primarily from ending the roughly $3 billion in annual U.S. support for the international space station by 2025.
The spending plan, which prompted sharp criticism from industry and congressional supporters of the space station even before its official release Monday [2-12-18], also calls for in-space robotic manufacturing followed by large-scale human outposts on the moon.”
-Andy Pasztor, “NASA Budget Proposal Emphasizes Public-Private Ventures,” The Wall Street Journal online, Feb. 12, 2018 06:33pm