Space station gains full House reprieve.

The House of Representatives last week rescued, at least temporarily, NASA's proposed Space Station Freedom. It reversed a decision by its appropriations committee to delete all but $100 million for the orbiting platform -- a move that would have effectively canceled the project (SN: 5/25/91, p.324).

A vote by the full House restored $1.9 billion in funds for the controversial structure. But to free up the needed money, House members froze NASA's budget at 1991 levels. This could delay planned shuttle improvements and the development of new, unmanned launching rockets, and could perhaps kill some smaller programs such as the Comet Rendezvous Asteroid Flyby, a mission that would send a probe into a comet.

Rep. George E. Brown Jr. (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, called last week's House vote "satisfying, but a satisfaction that is mixed with considerable pain since we had to freeze at '91 levels."

Intensive lobbying from NASA and the administration (the President had threatened to veto the appropriations bill unless it included the space station), plus pressure from partner nations who had already spent more than $2 billion on the project, apparently persuaded the House. Since the money came from eliminating budget increases for NASA, representatives were not forced to make a politically difficult choice between the space station and the veterans and housing programs.

The space station's future remains uncertain. A similar battle is expected in the Senate, whose appropriations committee budgeted only $50 million for the project. Brown predicts the Senate will save the project.

The recent showdown caught NASA, the aerospace industry and the White House by surprise. Yet it seemed inevitable in light of the budget deficit. NASA must compete for money with other independent federal agencies, such as the departments of Veteran Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, not just with other federal science agencies. This sets the stage for budget battles in the years to come.

"[NASA] is certainly no match for the veteran and housing lobbies," contends Rep. Dick Zimmer (R-N.J.), who opposes the space station.

Brown says his staff is investigating other methods of funding NASA. Some change appears necessary to ensure NASA's fiscal stability and to mollify foreign partners, who now wonder if they can trust the U.S. commitment to cooperative "big science" projects, he says.