House bill favorable toward space center

A compromise between Senate and House committees’ NASA authorization bills bodes well for Houston contractor jobs, area officials said.

The House Science and Technology Committee on Thursday approved a NASA authorization bill that expedites development of a heavy-lift launch vehicle and crew capsule for missions beyond low-Earth orbit.

The bill also adds an additional shuttle flight, supports the International Space Station through 2020 and reserves $140 million through three years to help contractors transition to another job once the shuttles retire.

A Senate committee’s bill directs NASA to add an additional shuttle flight after June 2011 and salvage Constellation’s plans for a heavy-lift rocket and crew capsule.

Some estimated as many as 7,000 Houston area contractor layoffs would result under President Barack Obama’s NASA budget proposal.

A compromise between the House and Senate bills would save 85 percent of those jobs, Bob Mitchell, president of the Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership, said.

The House’s proposal allows NASA to “live within its means,” committee Chairman Bart Gordon, D-Tenn., said.

“The Constellation program that we know is unexecutable with the funds that have been and are likely to be appropriated,” Gordon said. “The new program builds on the investment and advancements already made in the Constellation program.”

U.S. Rep. Pete Olson, R-Sugar Land, whose district includes the Johnson Space Center, co-sponsored the legislation.

The bill passed unanimously in committee and reflects bipartisan support, Olson said.