NASA Requests Money for Shuttle Upgrades, New Mars Mission, Nuclear Propulsion

Posted by tourdemars to Budget at February 2, 2003 12:00 PM

NASA’s budget request for 2004 -- finalized weeks before the launch of Columbia’s fatal mission and released without fanfare today -- seeks a $700 million increase for the space shuttle program. The increase is part of a $15.469 billion budget request NASA and the White House drew up under different assumptions than they face today. The budget represents a $469 million increase over NASA’s 2003 request and would fund several new initiatives, including efforts to send a nuclear probe to Jupiter and place a laser telecommunications satellite in orbit around Mars.