At the time, it was not clear where the $27 million needed to pay for the contracts would come from, but United Press International has learned that NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe has won approval on Capitol Hill for the spending and also has garnered support from a key legislator who could help the space agency achieve full funding of the space exploration effort.

Rep. James Walsh, R-N.Y., chair of the House subcommittee that oversees the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, has agreed to accept a restructuring of the agency's operating plan that frees up $75 million in unspent fiscal year 2004 money. The funds now can be used for the contracts, and other elements of the new space plan announced by President George W. Bush last January.

This action represents a turnabout by Walsh, who in July allowed his subcommittee to cut the administration's NASA budget request for fiscal year 2005 by more than $1 billion.

The White House was seeking an FY 2005 NASA budget of $16.2 billion -- $866 million more than the current year. The subcommittee, however, approved only $15.149 billion, an amount that would not only slash the entire increase the administration had requested, but also would cut NASA to $229 million below its FY 2004 level.

Despite the victory, O'Keefe's political wiggle room remains narrow. When the subcommittee approved slashing all of the new funds in NASA's FY 2005 budget request, the House also voted to grant full funding only to the agency's requests for the space shuttle and International Space Station programs.

By allowing NASA to re-program some of the cash still available in the current year, Walsh has opened the door -- just a bit, perhaps -- to giving exploration plan supporters a ray of hope. Had he opposed the shift in funding, the exploration contracts would have had to be delayed until Congress approved the final NASA budget for the new year -- assuming it will contain new money.

That remains uncertain as the House and Senate, both of which returned this week from their summer recesses -- begin the inevitable struggle to pass the pending appropriations bills.

Congressional sources suggest that legislators probably will approve only continuing resolutions, which permit interim spending while budget deliberations continue -- a most likely prospect because both sides of the Hill will recess again in a few weeks for the remaining days of the congressional and presidential campaigns. They will not return to legislative business until after the Nov. 2 election.

Thus far, NASA has failed to receive support for the new moneys requested for the Bush plan by either legislative body. The House Appropriations committee passed a slashed space budget that Walsh's subcommittee had recommended, but that measure probably will not be approved, because House Majority Leader Tom Delay, R-Texas, has promised fierce opposition and White House staffers have even suggested the president might exercise a rare veto.

The Senate Appropriations committee is expected to address NASA spending shortly.

Those familiar with O'Keefe's legislative strategy suggest it combines blocking the deep House cuts with a more favorable action by the Senate, leading to a House-Senate conference where O'Keefe hopes ultimately to prevail and win the bigger appropriations.

Both houses then would have to vote again to approve the compromise. The approval of the reprogramming -- which by terms of the Walsh deal can only be spent on exploration studies and not day-to-day moon-Mars staff expenses -- hints that the House may be willing to find a way to keep Bush's ambitious space project alive -- at least for the fall.

The contracts announced by NASA were issued in two categories. Each consists of a six-month-long base award, and a potential second six-month option. The first group concerned preliminary concepts for human lunar exploration.

The winners and the value of their contracts were:

-- Raytheon, of Tucson, Ariz., with a base level of $994,157 and an optional amount of $998,529;

-- SAIC, of Houston, with a base of $996,616 and option of $998,539, and

-- SpaceHAB Corp., of Webster, Texas, with a $995,603 base and $998,907 option.

The second group consists of concepts for the moon-bound crew exploration vehicle and designs for its lunar missions. The companies who won and the value of their contracts are:

-- Andrews Space Inc., Seattle -- Base: $2,999,988; Option: $2,999,941

-- Draper Labs, Cambridge, Mass. -- Base: $2,988,083; Option: $2,945,357

-- Lockheed Martin Corp., Denver -- Base: $2,999,742; Option: $2,999,920

-- Northrop Grumman Corp., El Segundo, Calif. -- Base: $2,958,753; Option: $2,999,473

-- Orbital Sciences Corp., Dulles, Va. -- Base: $2,998,952; Option: $2,994,259

-- Schafer, Chelmsford, Mass. -- Base: $2,999,179; Option: $2,997,804

-- The Boeing Co., Huntington Beach, Calif. -- Base: $2,998,203; Option: $2,998,346

-- t-Space, Menlo Park, Calif. -- Base: $2,999,732; Option: $2,939,357

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