The Senate, led by Ted Cruz, endorses NASA’s failed SLS, Orion, and Lunar Gateway
Let’s all go bankrupt! A bill introduced today by Ted Cruz (R-Texas), chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, rejects the Trump budget plan to phase out NASA’s failed SLS, Orion, and Lunar Gateway programs that have cost so far tens of billions for decades without accomplishing anything, and instead expands funding over the next decade to these and many other projects and agencies at NASA.
The bill would allocate $2.6 billion to Lunar Gateway, $4.1 billion to build two more SLS rockets, $20 million to build one more Orion capsule, $1.25 billion more for ISS to continue its operations as is, and $1 billion to upgrade or expand facilities at five NASA centers in Florida, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana.
This pork-laden bill would also fund a Mars Telecommunications Orbiter for $700 million and add $325 million to the $843 million contract NASA has with SpaceX to build the de-orbit vehicle for bringing ISS down in a controlled manner once it is retired.
What this bill tells us is that these Senators, led by “lying” Ted Cruz (to use the nickname Trump pinned on him during the 2016 presidential election campaign), are still unwilling to face the realities of the national debt, and want to spend money we don’t have in order to make believe they are grand explorers sending Americans into space. Instead, these idiots are simply funneling cash to their states in order to bribe voters to vote for them.
As Elon Musk so correctly noted, there is an election coming in 2026. Maybe it is time to throw them all out.
What this bill also tells us is that Trump is going to find it very difficult to get the budget under control. The Senate doesn’t care if the country goes bankrupt. They intend to spend our money like it grows on trees, to hell with the future. Shame on them.
Sadly, these senators know they have the backing of almost the entire press corp, which is why they are doing this. They figure they will get great press for “saving” NASA, even if it bankrupts the country. Worse, it appears the press is all for helping them do so.
R.I.P. America.
Readers!
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As I have said many times before, I can’t express what it means to me to get such support, especially as no one is required to pay anything to read my work. Thank you all again!
For those readers who like my work here at Behind the Black and haven't contributed so far, please consider donating or subscribing. My analysis of space, politics, and culture, taken from the perspective of an historian, is almost always on the money and ahead of the game. For example, in 2020 I correctly predicted that the COVID panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Every one of those 2020 conclusions has turned out right.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
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Let’s all go bankrupt! A bill introduced today by Ted Cruz (R-Texas), chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, rejects the Trump budget plan to phase out NASA’s failed SLS, Orion, and Lunar Gateway programs that have cost so far tens of billions for decades without accomplishing anything, and instead expands funding over the next decade to these and many other projects and agencies at NASA.
The bill would allocate $2.6 billion to Lunar Gateway, $4.1 billion to build two more SLS rockets, $20 million to build one more Orion capsule, $1.25 billion more for ISS to continue its operations as is, and $1 billion to upgrade or expand facilities at five NASA centers in Florida, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana.
This pork-laden bill would also fund a Mars Telecommunications Orbiter for $700 million and add $325 million to the $843 million contract NASA has with SpaceX to build the de-orbit vehicle for bringing ISS down in a controlled manner once it is retired.
What this bill tells us is that these Senators, led by “lying” Ted Cruz (to use the nickname Trump pinned on him during the 2016 presidential election campaign), are still unwilling to face the realities of the national debt, and want to spend money we don’t have in order to make believe they are grand explorers sending Americans into space. Instead, these idiots are simply funneling cash to their states in order to bribe voters to vote for them.
As Elon Musk so correctly noted, there is an election coming in 2026. Maybe it is time to throw them all out.
What this bill also tells us is that Trump is going to find it very difficult to get the budget under control. The Senate doesn’t care if the country goes bankrupt. They intend to spend our money like it grows on trees, to hell with the future. Shame on them.
Sadly, these senators know they have the backing of almost the entire press corp, which is why they are doing this. They figure they will get great press for “saving” NASA, even if it bankrupts the country. Worse, it appears the press is all for helping them do so.
R.I.P. America.
Readers!
My annual February birthday fund-raising drive for Behind the Black is now over. Thank you to everyone who donated or subscribed. While not a record-setter, the donations were more than sufficient and slightly above average.
As I have said many times before, I can’t express what it means to me to get such support, especially as no one is required to pay anything to read my work. Thank you all again!
For those readers who like my work here at Behind the Black and haven't contributed so far, please consider donating or subscribing. My analysis of space, politics, and culture, taken from the perspective of an historian, is almost always on the money and ahead of the game. For example, in 2020 I correctly predicted that the COVID panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Every one of those 2020 conclusions has turned out right.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
“there is a difference between the black and white of business and the shades of gray and horse trading in politics”
I think its called it making the sausage.
The system and the process are the only solution.
I was always skeptical that the deference Trump had been receiving from Hill Republicans would not crumble once it came to granular appropriations like the NASA budget….
Note that Cruz and his colleagues don’t say much of anything about the science directorate cuts, beyond the insistence on the Mars Telecommunications Orbiter, which in turn is a telling indirect support for Mars Sample Return. But almost all of the science missions being whacked are managed at NASA centers in blue states represented mostly by blue congressmen. Mars Sample Return, however, bids to have a significant red state presence. In short, it’s about pork.
The Ted Cruz principles at work seem to be just pork and jingo. Jingo and pork. A result that neither the Trump Administration nor the NASA science establishment will be happy with — which might be the only thing they agree on.
I love Ted on 99% of what he says and does, but he’s 100% wrong on this one.
We can’t get Ted out of office for nearly six years as he was re-elected in 2024. I am from Texas and I did vote for him because the Democrat opponent would have been horrible for this country.
More proof that this a jabs program, and dar more important than science.
Break up NASA.
Grrrr. Jobs, not jabs.
Since NASA spending is discretionary then Cruz’ plan must be directed towards the appropriations bills to come.
Ted Cruz is a perfect example of the politicians who say all the right things during the re-election cycle and then quietly turn on everything they claimed to hold dear.
It’s time people start waking up and voting accordingly.
It’s about choosing the best INDIVIDUALS, not simply going with whomever has a D or R next to their name.
See lyin’ *** Ted Cruz as exhibit A.
”What this bill also tells us is that Trump is going to find it very difficult to get the budget under control.”
Trump doesn’t _want_ to get the budget under control. His Big Beautiful Bill adds $5 trillion to the national debt. That’s what the dust-up with Elon Musk was about. Before that, Trump attacked and threatened to primary the Republican congressmen who tried to add spending cuts to it.
You attack a man as a liar, one who is bankrupting and even killing America while praising a man adding 500 times Ted’s bill to the national debt. It’s hard to take seriously.
One thing that gives me hope is the idea that SpaceX can afford its own Mars program at this point.
As long as Elon doesn’t do a Howard Hughes, and the USG doesn’t return to the unconventional warfare it conducted against Musk during the previous administration. (Definitely a non-zero chance of either or both happening.)
Another thing that gives me hope is the AI Apocalypse, already in progress. It’s going to obsolete a vast number of things we consider critical and worth fighting over. On the other hand, occasionally it also fills me with a cold dread. Change is both thrilling and frightening.
mkent: The “Big Beautiful Bill” I agree is a monstrosity, but that fact is largely shaped by the budget rules and the very narrow Republican majority right now. Trump’s 2026 budget proposal, which is where the real fight will be, clearly shows he is making an effort to bring that budget under control (as clearly shown by what the White House proposes for NASA).
I recognize this distinction. You should also. Neither of us like ugliness of the present bill, but we also need to recognize that changing this situation is not going to be easy, and will occur in steps.
Musk’s complaints are just one aspect of this fight, and it is a good one. Those who demand cuts get the most attention, and that is going to help get the cuts through in the end.
“Cutbacks for thee–but not for me?”
In the political lexicon, “pork” is defined as any money not spent on Elon, like a Moon Rocket that actually flew.
Still pushing the SLS boondoggle, Jeff? It cannot fly often enough, isn’t reusable and is vastly too expensive.
What money is US.gov spending on Starship?
1. We all know what the definition of “pork” is, and why SLS falls under its rubric.
2. SLS has flown exactly…once. Successfully, yes, but only once. Two and a half years ago. Starship has flown to orbit 7 times. The orbit intersected the atmosphere, by design, so it never completed a full earth orbit. But it’s not accurate to say it has never flown.
3. The truth is, and I think I may even speak for Bob here, most of us would be uneasy seeing very much money going to Starship — precisely because we do not want it too much under any government control. SpaceX is at the point where it can make it to Mars without NASA largesse.
Richard M: You speak for me as well. If you reread my policy paper, Capitalism in Space, one of my recommendations was that the government should NOT fund private space fully, and it should not do so generously. Musk has now created the situation we have always dreamed of. He is making enough money to not need ANY government money at all. He’ll take it of course, if he sell them his product, but only on his terms.
Senator Cruise is losing it.
It’s part of the tax pan, if it passes, to give every baby born during the Trump administration in United States 1000 dollars. It will be invested in one of his donors portfolios until the children turn 18 at which time it will be heavily taxed. (Unless Government loses the lockbox key? Again)
Giving away taxpayer money is the Democrats bread and butter, now the Republicans are doing it?
https://www.cruz.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/sen-cruz-introduces-the-invest-america-act
Marshall is not Washington..it is Marshall.
If they were Army, or Marines–would you dog them so?
They have no horns on their heads–like me, they fear the Greens..and legal animism.
I wish you could meet them.
Neither they nor I wanted things to be so ugly.
For years…YEARS…they had the Dan Golden’s call them everything but children of God
They actually got an Apollo 8 done on flat budgets…but instead of a pat on the back-we were trashed
Do you not know how hurtful that is to folks who love this nation as much as you do?
The government takes $5 trillion from us each year. During Biden’s 4 years they were spending an additional $3 trillion a year they borrowed. So to stay in budget and pay down the debt the government would really have to cut all spending by 50%.
This is how the government spends our money:
PERCENTAGE / CATEGORY
22% – Social Security
14% – Net Interest
13% – Health
13% – Medicare
13% – National Defense
11% – Income Security
5% – Veterans Benefits and Services
3% – Education, Training, Employment, and Social Services
2% – Transportation
1% – Natural Resources and Environment
3% – Other
https://fiscaldata.treasury.gov/americas-finance-guide/federal-spending/
The largest expense is Social Security at 22%. Social Security, Health, Medicare, Income Security added together are 59%.
I’m betting if waste and fraud were eliminated that that would reduce spending by 50%. When Musk bought Twitter he laid of 80% of the workers and the company ran fine. Government is even more inefficient.
But I agree with Robert that it doesn’t look like government has the honesty and integrity to do this.
Jeff Wright: Apollo 8 was more than half a century ago.. NO ONE who did that has worked at Marshall now for possibly thirty years, more likely more.
The real question is “What have you done for us lately?” What you HAVE done is given us a cumbersome rocket that can’t fly more than once every year at best, is too expensive to afford, can’t get sufficient payload into orbit to do the job, and most of all, uses old expendable technology that is clearly obsolete. And you created this expensive piece of junk by spending about $60 billion, taking two decades to do it.
So, Marshall employees can cry in their hankies all they want, but they ain’t going to get much sympathy from the taxpayer. They sold us a bad product, and the taxpayer is very unhappy.
And let me add, that Ted Cruz wants to throw more good money after this garbage while bankrupting the country tells me that any good opinion I once had for him (in 2016 he was my preferred choice for president) was a very bad mistake.
Like Bob Z says:
If you are whining about the BBB then you are not doing your research and do not understand the situation.
It cannot do what you want it to do. But within the confines of the rules it does a lot. So stop whining and be grateful for what it can do.
Where you have to focus are the appropriations bills. Now Congress goes into recess in August ( have they not heard of air conditioning???) which wastes a whole month. I doubt they can get a new NASA administrator selected, interviewed, and confirmed in the 3 months of sessions before September 30th. MAYBE they can do it if Petro is selected except that will be a huge fight because a lot of Congresscritters know that she will ice their fave programs.
Just look at what Cruz proposes and what Trump suggests: I figure Petro will do what Trump wants. So confirming her will be a tough fight.
But for now, Trump is better off not appointing anyone. Petro is in charge, FY25 ends on September 30. I expect another CR because Congress is just slovenly. If Congress does not pass the NASA appropriations bill and does not put in specific line items to save programs, before September 30, I suspect (don’t know for certain) that Petro can ice whatever program she wants.