House Boosts NASA Budget to $20.21 Billion; Bush White House Objects

The House of Representatives voted 409 in favor to 15 opposed Wednesday to boost NASA's FY '09 budget to $20.21 billion setting the stage for what may be a bi-partisan struggle with the White House over space policy including the number of shuttle flights and the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer.

The $1.5 Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer is ready to fly and be attached to the space staion but was grounded to make way for a transition from shuttle to the new Constellation program. Nonetheless, many in the international science community want to see it fly to station in late 2010. So, the House added a new flight to the only ten remaining space shuttle launch manifest.

The measure also seeks to close the so-called 'gap' and funding an additional $1-billion to speed development of the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle and the Ares 1 launch vehicle designed to ferry astronauts to orbit in 2015 - five years after the space shuttle is retired. MORE from MSNBC.

It is expcted that the Senate will pass a similar measure later this year setting the stage for a space policy confrontation with the White House and OMB.