NASA's fiscal year 2005 budget request lays out the agency's spiral development plan for the proposed Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV), which would be produced in three production blocks with accompanying demonstration flights starting in 2008.

Drawing on the work performed in the agency's terminated Orbital Space Plane (OSP) program, the CEV is to launch atop an expendable rocket and carry human beings to the moon, Mars, and other destinations beyond low-Earth orbit. NASA plans to develop the vehicle under the name "Project Constellation," and is requesting $428 million for the effort in FY '05.

The CEV will be produced three development blocks: prototype test vehicles, an unmanned Block 1 configuration, and a manned Block II version. Formulation concept studies will take place in FY '04, with preliminary design in FY '05 and FY '06, according to NASA.

A system design review is set for FY '05, with a preliminary design review to take place the following year. The decision to proceed with full-scale development will occur at the end of FY '06, following the completion of a non-advocate review and an independent cost review, according to NASA.

The first prototype flight of the CEV will take place in 2008, with an unmanned Block 1 demo flight in 2011, and a Block II demo flight in 2013. The CEV is to be carrying humans to low-Earth orbit by 2014, and is scheduled to take astronauts on a return to the moon no later than 2020.

NASA plans to decide whether it will need a new Saturn V-class heavy-lift rocket to boost the CEV in 2008-2009. Such a rocket could be derived from the space shuttle's launch stack, according to NASA.

Exploration systems

Development of the CEV falls under NASA's new Exploration Systems enterprise, which was formed in response to the Bush Administration's new vision for space exploration (DAILY, Jan. 15.) The FY '05 budget request allocates $1.646 billion for Exploration Systems, which includes Human & Robotic Technology (HRT) and Transportation Systems (TS). The Exploration Systems budget is projected to grow to $3.313 billion in FY '09.

The budget request for HRT in FY '05 is $1.09 billion (see budget chart on Page 8). HRT is responsible for developing technologies to enable sustainable exploration of the solar system, according to NASA. It includes five sub-programs: Centennial Challenges, Project Prometheus, Technology Maturation, Advanced Space Technology, and Innovative Technology Transfer Partnerships.

Funded at $20 million in FY '05, Centennial Challenges will establish a series of annual prizes for "revolutionary, breakthrough accomplishments that advance exploration of the solar system and beyond and other NASA goals," according to NASA budget documents. The effort is modeled on successful 19th century navigation prizes and early 20th century aviation prizes, NASA says.

Transportation Systems will provide crew transfer and other NASA-unique space transportation capabilities, including the CEV. Its FY '05 budget request is $688.8 million.

Shuttle, station

Meanwhile, the International Space Station (ISS) and space shuttle programs would receive a boost in the FY '05 budget request. The ISS would go from $1.498 billion enacted in FY '04 to $1.863 billion in FY '05, and the shuttle's budget is projected to rise from $3.945 billion in FY '04 to $4.319 billion in FY '05.

The shuttle is scheduled to be retired in 2010 after completing the ISS, a task that will require another 25 to 30 flights. The FY '05 budget request will allow NASA to meet the necessary flight rates while preparing for the vehicle's retirement, according to the agency. Savings from shuttle retirement will begin to accrue towards the end of the decade, according to NASA comptroller Steve Isakowitz.

Before the development of the administration's new vision, NASA was facing a White House-mandated spending freeze that would have leveled the agency's annual topline budget at roughly $15 billion until at least FY '09, according to Administrator Sean O'Keefe. Armed with its new mandate, NASA's budget now is projected to grow steadily from $16.2 billion in FY '05 to roughly $18 billion in FY '09.