Your Guide to NASA's Budget (2024)

NASA's budget is set by an annual process that begins with a proposalfrom the White House and ends with legislation passed by Congress andsigned by the President. The budget specifies funding amounts forprograms and projects in human spaceflight, space science, aeronautics,technology development, and education.

NASA's budget peaked during the Apollo program in the 1960s. Afterthe United States won the race to the Moon, space exploration lostpolitical support and NASA's budget was cut significantly. Since the1970s, NASA has hovered between 1% and 0.4% of all U.S. governmentspending.

NASA's annual budget since its inception, adjusted for inflation using the NASA New Start Inflation Index. The vertical axis displays NASA's total congressional appropriation in billions of dollars. The horizontal axis is fiscal years. Detailed data including outlays, alternate inflation indicies, non-inflation adjusted numbers, and White House budget requests are available to view or to download as an Excel spreadsheet.

NASA Budget Breakdown

NASA is internally divided into major program areas, each of whichreceives funding to manage its own projects. Funding varies year-to-year, but generally about 50% of NASA'sannual budget is spent on human spaceflight activities, 30%on robotic missions and scientific research, with the remainder splitbetween aeronautics, technology development programs, staff salaries,facilities management, and other overhead.

None of NASA's budget is used for national defense or intelligencegathering programs; it is a civilian agency responsible for the peacefulexploration of space. National security space programs are the responsibility of ahandful of other agencies, most notably the Space Force and the National Reconnaissance Office.

How NASA's Budget Is Made

The White House provides a detailed budget proposal to Congress every February which kicks off an annual process known as appropriations.

The proposal that begins this process is called the President's Budget Request or PBR,which itself is the outcome of year-long negotiations, first withinNASA and then between NASA and the White House's budget office. ThePresident's Budget Request includes a justification and explanation forall of the space agency's activities. It can also contain proposals tocancel projects or to begin new ones. The priorities reflected in thebudget request reflect that of the President, and the document can justas easily be read as a political statement by the executive branch.

The President's Budget Request does not carry the force of law and does not direct funding,though it does set the terms of the debate for funding legislation that issubsequently written by Congress.

NASA's Budget (part 1) The President's Budget Request kicks off the yearly budget season in United States. It takes a year to put together, and Congress plays no part. Why is that?

Once the White House sends its budget proposal to Congress, key congressional committees in the Senate and the House of Representativescraft legislation to fund NASA. Through this process, Congress decideswhether to accept or reject proposals contained in the President'sBudget Request and whether congressional funding levels for NASA'sprograms and initiatives will match, exceed, or fall short of the levelsproposed by the President.

The legislation must be passed by Congress and signed by thePresident before the start of the fiscal year on 1 October. If not, NASAloses its authority to spend money and cannot honor contractualobligations, provide paychecks, or otherwise function.

How NASA's Budget Is Made (part 2) Once the President's Budget Request is finished, there are still several more steps before the budget is complete. Here we take you through the second part of the budgeting process and explain why it's so important to follow in order to help NASA get the most money it can every year.

Note: Lessons 3 - 5 of The Planetary Society's free online course, Space Advocacy 101, explore this topic at greater depth.

NASA's Budget, Compared

The majority of spending by the United States government pays forsocial welfare programs and is not subject to annual congressionalapproval. This spending is referred to as "mandatory". Onlyabout 30% of all U.S. government spending requires approval every yearby Congress—a category of spending referred to as "discretionary". TheDefense Department and related activities account for roughly half ofall discretionary spending. All other government agencies andactivities—including NASA—are funded from the remaining amount.

The United States government spent approximately $6.6 trillion in fiscal year 2020, of which just 0.3% ($22.6 billion) was provided to NASA. In this chart, shades of blue represent mandatory spending programs; shades of orange are discretionary programs that require annual appropriations by Congress. "Defense and related" includes both the Department of Defense and Veterans Affairs. Source: Office of Management and Budget Historical Tables 8.5 and 8.7.

Where NASA's Budget Is Spent

NASA spends its money on Earth, not in space. NASA employs about17,000 people and supports the employment of tens of thousands morethrough contracts and grants made in every state of the union. Last yearNASA spent 73.5% of its total budget on contracts with nearly 5,000businesses, nonprofit organizations, and educational institutions acrossthe United States. NASA's major contractors—Boeing, Lockheed-Martin,SpaceX, and Orbital Sciences—are the biggest recipients of NASA funding,though they in turn work with many additional supplies and businesses.

The top 10 states by NASA contracted spending obligations in FY 2021. See the full list, including prior fiscal years, in this Google Spreadsheet. Source: NASA Procurement Data View/Casey Dreier.

Benefits of NASA

According to a report by The Tauri Group, NASA provides broad social and economic benefits to the United States. In particular, NASA:

• Supports technology development and skilled manufacturing, creatingpositive ripples throughout the economy larger than other federalagencies on average.
• Spurs innovation and business growth.
• Advances space-related industries and has made contributions thatdirectly impact people every day: including the first weathersatellites, telecommunications, remote sensing, and GPS technologies.
• Promotes international collaboration and supports peaceful foreign policy.
• Inspires people around the world; it is one of the best "brands" of the United States.
• Motivates and inspires people to pursue science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields.

Planetary Society Coverage of Past NASA Budgets

FY2024 |FY2023 |FY2022 | FY 2021 |FY 2020 |FY 2019 |FY 2018 |FY 2017 |FY 2016 |FY 2015 |FY 2014 |FY 2013

Resources

Historical NASA Budget Tables

Historical Budget Documents

NASA.gov Budget Information

Space Advocacy 101