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Supporting Research and Data Analysis in NASA's Science Programs: Engines for Innovation and Synthesis
Appendixes
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Supporting Research and Data Analysis in NASA's Science Programs: Engines for Innovation and Synthesis
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Supporting Research and Data Analysis in NASA's Science Programs: Engines for Innovation and Synthesis
A
Sources Of Data And Method Of Development
This appendix summarizes the various sources of data used by the Task Group on Research and Analysis Programs to build a database on detailed National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) procurement awards made during the 1980s and 1990s, and it describes the coding structure and analytical categories and techniques used to develop the data for the study reported on in Chapters 1 through 6 of this volume. A primary objective of this activity was to estimate the net space research1 component of awards made by NASA to universities. Any necessary caveats that should be observed in using the data in the context of this particular study are also noted.
NASA BUDGET HISTORY-THE BROAD CONTEXT
NASA presents a very extensive budget submission to Congress each year in support of the president's overall budget request. These budget justifications include a great deal of financial information, as well as supporting narrative about goals, objectives, schedules, and accomplishments of the various program elements that constitute NASA's program budget. Obtaining a consistent picture of the budget over a long span of time can be quite difficult because of changes in NASA's program structure and even more importantly because of changes in the NASA organizational elements responsible for the advocacy and management of these programs.
The task group's best efforts at developing a consistent long-term history of the NASA budget are presented in Tables A.1 and A.2. Table A.1 summarizes the ground-based elements of the NASA budget—the principal focus of this study. Table A.2 summarizes the budget history for major NASA
l
''Net space research" is a term used by the task group to indicate the research funded from an R&DA source as opposed to technology development, instrument development, and academic training that may be funded by other accounts.
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Supporting Research and Data Analysis in NASA's Science Programs: Engines for Innovation and Synthesis
TABLE A.1 FY 1981-1998 NASA Budgets: Ground-based Programs
Major Science-related Programs and Activities
Fiscal Year Obligations (in millions of current dollars)
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
Total Research and Analysis
231.4
208.4
236.8
246.9
260.5
268.7
P&A
37.7
22.9
28.5
35.9
39.9
49.0
Planetary
50.7
46.7
50.3
59.5
61.5
59.5
OSS subtotal
88.4
69.6
78.8
95.4
101.4
108.5
Life sciences
29.5
25.5
31.7
35.0
35.2
34.0
Microgravity science
9.5
12.0
13.1
11.0
11.7
12.1
OLMSA subtotal
39.0
37.5
44.8
46.0
46.9
46.1
Earth science
104.0
101.3
113.2
105.5
112.2
114.1
OES subtotal
104.0
101.3
113.2
105.5
112.2
114.1
Total Other Science Support
OLMSA—aerospace medicine
EOS science
EOS mission science teams and guest investigators
OES—Globe program
Total Suborbital Program
39.9
43.8
48.1
52.5
58.7
59.9
P&A—suborbital
39.9
43.8
48.1
52.5
58.7
59.9
SOFIA
Sounding rockets
25.0
24.4
27.0
27.8
25.7
23.1
Airborne research
4.5
17.5
17.6
18.9
22.0
25.0
Balloon program
1.4
1.9
3.5
5.8
6.8
6.1
Spartan program
4.3
5.7
OES—airborne science and applications
(25.0)
OES—UAVs
Total MO&DA (adjusted)
100.7
87.9
99.9
111.5
165.2
213.7
P&A—excluding HST operations and servicing
P&A—in budget books
38.9
45.3
61.4
68.1
109.1
111.7
HST operations and servicing included
Planetary
61.8
42.6
38.5
43.4
56.1
67.0
OSS—adjusted for HST operations and servicing
OSS—combined
OSS—in budget book
Earth science
35.0
Total EOS Data and Information System (EOSDIS)
Total Supporting Infrastructure
4.5
4.3
7.5
8.9
16.2
17.6
OSSA Information Systems Office
4.5
4.3
7.5
8.9
16.2
17.6
P&A information systems
CIESIN
OES information systems
High-performance computing and communications
Socio-Economic Data Applications Center
Landsat
Data purchases
Commercial remote sensing
Advanced geostationary studies
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Supporting Research and Data Analysis in NASA's Science Programs: Engines for Innovation and Synthesis
Major Science-related Programs and Activities
Fiscal Year Obligations (in millions of current dollars)
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
Approp. 1998
Total Research and Analysis
301.9
307.9
357.0
398.9
409.0
395.6
410.4
427.1
429.5
426.4
405.4
378.7
P&A
53.4
829
85.1
104.9
98.3
69.9
71.6
71.1
75.4
62.8
Planetary
69.5
67.3
76.9
70.7
67.8
76.6
101.7
107.6
108.4
93.4
FI:0OSS subtotal
122.9
150.2
162.0
175.6
166.1
146.5
173.3
178.7
183.8
156.2
166.8
130.5
Life sciences
41.8
38.4
38.2
44.4
56.3
62.9
52.9
55.1
50.7
55.2
58.0
53.7
Microgravity science
13.9
12.9
19.2
17.6
13.7
16.6
17.9
18.4
30.4
30.2
31.9
30.8
FI:0OLMSA subtotal
55.7
51.3
57.4
62.0
70.0
79.5
70.8
73.5
81.1
85.4
89.9
84.5
Earth science
123.3
106.4
137.6
161.3
172.9
169.6
166.3
174.9
164.6
184.8
148.7
163.7
FI:0OES subtotal
123.3
106.4
137.6
161.3
172.9
169.6
166.3
174.9
164.6
184.8
148.7
163.7
Total Other Science Support
63.9
47.5
84.3
88.3
OLMSA—aerospace medicine
3.8
7.5
EOS science
37.3
16.7
37.5
37.4
EOS mission science teams and guest investigators
26.6
30.8
41.8
45.9
OES—Globe program
5.0
5.0
Total Suborbital Program
79.1
66.5
68.4
72.1
75.2
80.4
85.5
94.7
93.2
115.3
79.2
105.9
P&A—suborbital
79.1
44.7
45.4
52.7
55.0
60.1
64.8
69.5
67.2
88.0
59.9
83.3
SOFIA
21.3
45.8
Sounding rockets
30.4
27.5
27.0
30.1
31.3
34.2
36.4
39.5
38.0
38.6
24.6
23.8
Airborne research
35.6
7.3
9.8
10.7
11.5
12.0
13.0
13.6
13.2
33.4
Balloon program
7.9
9.9
8.6
11.9
12.2
13.9
15.4
16.4
16.0
16.0
14.0
13.7
Spartan program
4.7
OES—airborne science and applications
(35.6)
21.8
23.0
19.4
20.2
20.3
20.7
25.2
26.0
27.3
19.0
20.7
OES—UAVs
0.3
1.9
Total MO&DA (adjusted)
239.7
229.0
164.6
232.6
335.5
383.3
456.2
418.3
379.0
410.7
421.0
395.8
P&A—excluding HST operations and servicing
53.9
76.6
125.9
167.5
198.8
190.0
190.7
P&A—in budget books
131.0
140.5
142.4
215.7
311.9
375.2
415.5
405.2
427.4
HST operations and servicing included
88.5
139.1
186.0
207.7
216.7
215.2
236.7
190.7
213.7
180.4
Planetary
75.1
73.8
110.7
156.0
170.2
160.7
163.4
130.7
117.2
OSS—adjusted for HST operations and servicing
296.1
328.2
362.2
320.7
307.9
372.9
382.8
348.1
OSS—combined
482.1
535.9
578.9
535.9
544.6
OSS—in budget book
563.6
596.5
528.5
Earth science
33.6
14.7
17.6
23.8
39.4
55.1
94.0
97.6
71.1
37.8
38.2
47.7
Total EOS Data and Information System (EOSDIS)
36.0
77.7
130.7
188.2
220.6
247.2
234.6
209.9
Total Supporting Infrastructure
21.2
20.8
19.9
28.2
4.5
50.0
74.3
50.4
66.8
83.1
107.8
47.1
OSSA Information Systems Office
21.2
20.8
19.9
28.2
4.5
4.5
4.5
4.5
4.5
4.5
P&A information systems
25.0
26.5
26.1
25.9
CIESIN
25.0
18.0
5.0
OES information systems
11.2
11.2
9.7
9.6
8.5
4.3
High-performance computing and communications
20.5
26.1
28.3
18.3
Socio-Economic Data Applications Center
6.0
Landsat
7.5
Data purchases
13.0
15.6
3.2
50.0
Commercial remote sensing
17.0
19.0
21.5
Advanced geostationary studies
2.0
3.0
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Supporting Research and Data Analysis in NASA's Science Programs: Engines for Innovation and Synthesis
Major Science-related Programs and Activities
Fiscal Year Obligations (in millions of current dollars)
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
Total Science-related Technology Programs
OSS—core technology program (not mission-specific)
OLMSA—space product development
Total Academic Programs
Education
Minority research and education
Total
376.5
344.4
392.3
419.8
500.6
559.9
Recap in Constant 1995 Dollars
Research and analysis
378.1
320.1
348.7
350.2
357.8
359.2
Other science support
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
Suborbital program
65.2
67.3
70.8
74.5
80.6
80.1
MO&DA
164.5
135.0
147.1
158.2
226.9
285.7
EOS Data and Information System (EOSDIS)
Supporting infrastructure
7.4
6.6
11.0
12.6
22.3
23.5
Science-related technology programs
Academic programs
Total Ground-based Programs in 1995 Dollars
615.2
529.0
577.8
595.5
687.6
748.5
GDP Implicit Price Deflator (1995 = 100)
61.2
65.1
67.9
70.5
72.8
74.8
NOTE: CIESIN = Consortium for International Earth Science Information Network; EOS-Earth Observing System; GLOBE = Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment; HST = Hubble Space Telescope; MO&DA = mission operations and data analysis; OES = Office of Earth Sciences; OLMSA = Office of Life and Microgravity Science and Applications; OSS = Office of Space Science; OSSA-Office of Space Science and Applications; P&A = physics and astronomy; SOFIA = Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy.
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Supporting Research and Data Analysis in NASA's Science Programs: Engines for Innovation and Synthesis
Major Science-related Programs and Activities
Fiscal Year Obligations (in millions of current dollars)
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
Approp. 1998
Total Science-related Technology Programs
0.0
200.5
213.7
OSS—core technology program (not mission-specific)
187.5
200.8
OLMSA—space product development
13.0
12.9
Total Academic Programs
(21.6)
(24.0)
37.5
55.1
66.8
92.9
85.5
106.2
109.9
120.4
120.0
Education
37.9
44.8
70.2
54.3
57.9
61.5
65.6
68.6
Minority research and education
17.2
22.0
22.7
31.2
48.3
48.8
54.8
51.4
Total
641.9
624.2
609.9
769.3
915.3
1053.8
1250.0
1264.2
1359.2
1440.1
1653.2
1559.4
Recap in Constant 1995 Dollars
Research and analysis
391.1
385.4
428.6
459.0
452.9
425.8
430.6
438.1
429.5
416.8
387.6
355.6
Other science support
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
63.9
46.4
80.6
82.9
Suborbital program
102.5
83.2
82.1
83.0
83.3
86.5
89.7
97.1
93.2
112.7
75.7
99.4
MO&DA
310.5
286.6
197.6
267.7
371.5
412.6
478.7
429.0
379.0
401.5
402.5
371.6
EOS Data and Information System (EOSDIS)
39.9
83.6
137.1
193.0
220.6
241.6
224.3
197.1
Supporting infrastructure
27.5
26.0
23.9
32.5
5.0
53.8
78.0
51.7
66.8
81.2
103.1
44.2
Science-related technology programs
191.7
200.7
Academic programs
43.2
61.0
71.9
97.5
87.7
106.2
107.4
115.1
112.7
Total Ground-based Programs in 1995 Dollars
831.5
781.2
732.2
885.3
1013.6
1134.3
1311.6
1296.6
1359.2
1407.7
1580.5
1464.2
GDP Implicit Price Deflator (1995 = 100)
77.2
79.9
83.3
86.9
90.3
92.9
95.3
97.5
100.0
102.3
104.6
106.5
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Supporting Research and Data Analysis in NASA's Science Programs: Engines for Innovation and Synthesis
TABLE A.2 FY 1981-1998 NASA Budgets: Major Flight Projects
Major Science-related Flight Projects
Fiscal Year Obligations (in millions of current dollars)
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
Total Physics and Astronomy
188.8
162.8
251.3
330.2
364.1
259.3
202.2
SIRTF development (and ATD)
ISPM development
28.0
HST development
119.3
121.5
182.5
195.6
195.0
125.8
96.0
HST operations and servicing (adjustment)
GRO development
8.2
8.0
34.5
85.9
117.2
85.3
50.5
AXAF development
Global geospace science development
TIMED development (and ATD)
Payload and instrument development
Relativity mission development (GP-B)
(7.5)
(9.0)
Explorer development
33.3
33.3
34.3
48.7
51.9
48.2
55.7
Total Planetary Exploration
63.1
120.7
97.6
114.5
173.3
227.1
214.6
Galileo development
63.1
115.7
91.6
79.5
58.8
64.2
71.2
Magellan development
29.0
92.5
120.3
97.3
Ulysses development (ISPM)
5.0
6.0
6.0
9.0
8.8
10.3
Mars Observer development
13.0
33.8
35.8
Mars Balloon Relay (Mars '94)
Cassini development
Discovery development
Mars Surveyor program
New Millennium ATD
Origins ATD
Exploration technology development
Total Life and Microgravity Sciences and Applications
49.3
65.8
113.9
118.5
147.8
140.4
151.7
Lifesciences
12.7
14.0
24.0
23.0
27.1
32.1
30.0
Microgravity
9.2
4.2
8.9
14.6
15.3
18.9
33.4
Shuttle and Spacelab payloads
27.4
47.6
81.0
80.9
105.4
89.4
72.8
Space Station payloads and planning
15.5
Station research facilities (move to space station budget)
Mission to Planet Earth (and precursors)
90.2
92.0
76.1
44.4
75.5
133.3
175.3
Landsat
88.5
81.9
58.4
16.8
UARS
6.0
14.0
20.0
55.7
114.0
113.8
Topex
18.9
EOS
Earth probes (including Scatterometer)
12.0
14.0
32.9
Space station attached payloads
Payload and instrument development
1.7
4.1
3.7
7.6
7.8
5.3
9.7
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Supporting Research and Data Analysis in NASA's Science Programs: Engines for Innovation and Synthesis
Major Science-related Flight Projects
Fiscal Year Obligations (in millions of current dollars)
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
Approp. 1998
Total Physics and Astronomy
233.0
406.8
452.1
505.6
661.1
674.6
707.3
737.4
667.9
476.9
573.1
SIRTF development (and ATD)
15.0
24.9
55.4
ISPM development
HST development
93.1
104.9
81.8
HST operations and servicing (adjustment)
88.5
139.1
186.0
207.7
216.7
215.2
236.7
190.7
213.7
180.4
GRO development
53.4
50.9
41.2
22.0
AXAF development
16.0
44.0
101.2
150.7
168.3
239.3
224.3
237.6
18.4
95.8
Global geospace science development
18.6
64.4
57.6
96.6
75.3
72.6
27.6
40.0
TIMED development (and ATD)
15.0
25.9
52.7
Payload and instrument development
118.3
74.2
59.5
66.0
25.9
16.9
18.0
Relativity mission development (GP-B)
(10.3)
(17.9)
(21.7)
(23.4)
(27.2)
27.0
42.4
50.0
51.5
59.6
57.3
Explorer development
67.9
82.1
88.4
99.8
109.1
115.8
123.3
120.4
132.2
117.5
113.5
Total Planetary Exploration
186.6
229.0
164.2
235.8
296.9
208.5
413.0
454.6
405.6
241.4
266.7
Galileo development
51.9
73.4
17.1
Magellan development
73.0
43.1
Ulysses development (ISPM)
7.8
10.3
14.3
2.8
Mars Observer development
53.9
102.2
98.9
88.5
85.0
Mars Balloon Relay (Mars '94)
4.4
1.5
1.2
3.5
4.4
Cassini development
29.5
143.0
210.7
205.0
266.6
255.0
191.5
74.6
Discovery development
127.4
129.7
102.2
76.8
76.5
Mars Surveyor program
14.6
59.4
111.9
90.0
145.2
New Millennium ATD
10.5
Origins ATD
25.0
Exploration technology development
20.0
Total Life and Microgravity Sciences and Applications
150.3
173.0
226.1
261.5
276.9
336.7
434.0
379.7
312.8
137.0
109.3
Lifesciences
33.8
40.9
61.7
81.1
94.7
81.1
131.7
89.8
54.4
39.4
34.8
Microgravity
49.8
56.4
84.3
88.6
104.2
156.0
156.6
97.1
76.3
73.4
69.6
Shuttle and Spacelab payloads
47.8
67.7
75.1
88.8
78.0
94.1
108.7
102.3
53.6
24.2
4.9
Space Station payloads and planning
18.9
8.0
5.0
3.0
(7.7)
5.5
37.0
90.5
Station research facilities (move to space station budget)
128.5
Mission to Planet Earth (and precursors)
214.0
225.2
229.7
243.2
357.1
423.5
515.2
675.2
634.3
644.0
753.2
Landsat
(78.0)
25.0
(74.1)
UARS
89.2
85.2
55.2
62.0
Topex
74.5
83.0
84.8
80.4
65.0
EOS
176.4
263.7
392.9
574.1
554.2
582.2
704.6
Earth probes (including Scatterometer)
22.6
10.6
13.6
51.7
77.8
99.4
96.4
81.6
80.1
61.8
48.6
Space station attached payloads
Payload and instrument development
27.7
46.4
76.1
49.1
37.9
35.4
25.9
19.5
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Supporting Research and Data Analysis in NASA's Science Programs: Engines for Innovation and Synthesis
Major Science-related Flight Projects
Fiscal Year Obligations (in millions of current dollars)
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
Total Space Station Research (budget restructured in FY 1999a)
Research projects
Utilization support
Mir support (including Mir research)
Total Science-related Technology Programs
0.0
0.0
20.0
25.0
45.0
81.9
84.6
ACTS development
20.0
25.0
45.0
81.9
84.6
OSS Mission studies and technology development
OSS Focused technology programs (mission-specific)
OSS New Millennium program
Total (including Space Station research facilities and focused technology programs)
391.4
441.3
558.9
632.6
805.7
842.0
828.4
Recap in Constant 1995 Dollars
Physics and astronomy
308.6
250.1
370.2
468.5
500.2
346.5
262.1
Planetary exploration
103.1
185.4
143.8
162.5
238.1
303.5
278.1
Life and microgravity sciences and applications
80.6
101.1
167.8
168.1
203.0
187.6
196.6
Mission to Planet Earth (and precursors)
147.4
141.3
112.1
63.0
103.7
178.1
227.2
Science-related technology programs
0.0
0.0
29.5
35.5
61.8
109.4
109.6
Space station research facilities
Total Major Flight Projects in 1995 dollars
639.7
678.0
823.4
897.6
1106.8
1125.1
1073.6
GDP Pride Deflator
61.2
65.1
67.9
70.5
72.8
74.8
77.2
NOTE: ACTS = Advanced Communications Technology Satellite; ATD = Advanced Technology Development; AXAF = Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility; EOS = Earth Observing System; GRO = Gamma Ray Observatory; HST = Hubble Space Telescope; ISPM = International Solar Polar Mission; TIMED = Thermospheric Ionosphere Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics; UARS = Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite
a Data shown prior to FY 1997 are and were distributed in other budget elements.
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Major Science-related Flight Projects
Fiscal Year Obligations (in millions of current dollars)
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
Approp. 1998
Total Space Station Research (budget restructured in FY 1999a)
(187.8)
(254.6)
(277.4)
82.2
95.3
Research projects
(43.1)
(112.8)
(131.3)
82.2
95.3
Utilization support
(21.0)
(36.3)
(64.4)
(54.6)
(89)
Mir support (including Mir research)
(123.7)
(105.5)
(81.7)
(59.3)
(37)
Total Science-related Technology Programs
75.6
74.8
60.0
34.0
18.7
4.0
3.0
2.3
26.7
72.3
210.4
ACTS development
75.6
74.8
60.0
34.0
18.7
4.0
3.0
2.3
OSS Mission studies and technology development
26.7
OSS Focused technology programs (mission-specific)
26.7
170.7
OSS New Millennium program
45.6
39.7
Total (including Space Station research facilities and focused technology programs)
859.5
1,108.8
1,132.1
1,280.1
1,610.7
1,647.3
2,072.5
2,249.2
2,047.3
1,653.8
2,008.0
Recap in Constant 1995 Dollars
Physics and astronomy
291.5
488.4
520.2
559.6
712.0
708.1
725.5
737.2
652.9
456.0
538.1
Planetary exploration
233.4
275.0
188.9
261.0
319.8
218.9
423.6
454.5
396.5
230.8
250.4
Life and microgravity sciences and applications
188.0
207.7
260.2
289.5
298.2
353.4
445.2
379.6
305.8
131.0
102.6
Mission to Planet Earth ( and precursors)
267.7
270.4
264.3
269.2
384.6
444.6
528.4
675.0
620.0
615.8
707.2
Science-related technology programs
94.6
89.8
69.0
37.6
20.1
4.2
3.1
2.3
26.1
69.1
197.6
Space station research facilities
125.6
78.6
89.5
Total Major Flight Projects in 1995 dollars
1075.1
1331.3
1302.6
1416.9
1734.7
1729.2
2125.8
2248.6
2126.9
1581.3
1885.4
GDP Pride Deflator
79.9
83.3
86.9
90.3
92.9
95.3
97.5
100.0
102.3
104.6
106.5
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flight projects. Because of the large year-to-year changes in budget resources required for the development of major spaceflight projects, it is essential to separate these projects to make any sense of the dollar trends in funding for the various NASA program activities. In developing Tables A.1 and A.2, the task group tracked through successive budget documents in order to tabulate the latest available "actual" budget for each program element. For purposes of comparison, any given budget usually shows budget data for 3 years: (1) the prior fiscal-year amount (the actual amount as recorded in the agency's financial accounts), (2) the current-year amount (an estimate of the ongoing year's activity at the time the budget request is submitted), and (3) the budget-request amount (which is frequently modified by Congress in the appropriations process). Tables A.1 and A.2 track the prior-year (or actual) amounts given in the various budget reports summarized in this study.
The budget history tables (and many of the other analytical summaries in this report) include constant-dollar series that were adjusted by the task group based on Office of Management and Budget (OMB) gross domestic product (GDP) implicit price deflators (see Table A.3), which can be found in the president's annual budget documents and are also available on the Government Printing Office Web site (<http://www.gpo.gov/su_docs/budget99/hist_wk1.html>).
DATA FROM THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION'S FEDERAL FUNDS ANNUAL SERIES-BROAD SECTORAL OVERVIEW
Table A.4 provides a broad historical perspective on performers of NASA-funded R&D. This summary is based on the National Science Foundation's (NSF's) federal funds series of statistics gathered and published each year by NSF's Science Resources Studies Division. These data are collected by NSF from each of the major R&D-performing agencies of the federal government and are statistical extracts or estimates derived from the annual budget documents. These agency statistics, collected for several decades on a consistent basis, are an important source of information about federal R&D programs. They provide detailed estimates of agency programs, based on the character of the work being supported (including estimates of the amounts provided for basic and applied research and for development activities). For the purposes of this report, the NSF data are significant because they provide the only regularly published data from NASA that contain a breakdown of the overall NASA R&D program by performing sector (e.g., industry, academic institutions, nonprofit organizations, and in-house NASA centers). In fact, this series is the only source of which the task group is aware that presents estimates of the dollar value of NASA intramural research.
One caveat regarding NSF federal funds data is that they represent agency estimates—in this case, NASA estimates—of program amounts directed to particular performers of R&D. The data received by NSF from NASA are not tied to specific contracts and grants and do not provide either a breakdown by major NASA field installations or separate identification of Jet Propulsion Laboratory R&D work, which is included in the general category of federally funded research and development centers (FFRDCs).
DATA AND ANALYTICAL CATEGORIES FOR SUMMARIZING NASA AWARDS TO UNIVERSITIES
NASA does not currently publish very much top-level summary data about the nature of its procurement awards for externally performed research, such as the average size of NASA contracts, their average duration, or their distribution by major fields of science. However, for many years NASA has
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TABLE A.3 Deflators for Task Group on Research and Analysis Study
Fiscal Year
Base Year FY 1995
Base Year FY 1989
Index
Value of $300,000
Index
Value of $300,000
1981
61.2
184
73.5
220
1982
65.1
195
78.2
234
1983
67.9
204
81.5
245
1984
70.5
212
84.6
254
1985
72.8
218
87.4
262
1986
74.8
224
89.8
269
1987
77.2
232
92.7
278
1988
79.9
240
95.9
288
1989
83.3
250
100.0
300
1990
86.9
261
104.3
313
1991
90.3
271
108.4
325
1992
92.9
279
111.5
335
1993
95.3
286
114.4
343
1994
97.5
293
117.0
351
1995
100.0
300
120.0
360
1996
102.3
307
122.8
368
1997
104.6
314
125.5
377
1998 (estimated)
106.5
320
127.9
384
1999 (estimated)
108.7
326
130.5
391
NOTE: Based on gross domestic product deflator series, Council of Economic Advisors. FY 1996 to FY 1999 values downloaded from OMB Web site: <http://www.gpo.gov/su_docs/budget99/hist_wkl.html>. Deflators were updated using the base year 1992.
published annually in its Green Books2 an exhaustive listing of all of its research and training awards to colleges and universities that provides very detailed information at the level of specific contracts and grants. In the most recent fiscal year for which data were available for this study, FY 1995, 8,141 active contracts and grants were awarded to academic institutions.3
NASA's Green Books contain a wealth of information at the level of individual contracts and grants, including a specific contract or grant award number, the name of the receiving institution, its location by state, a brief descriptive title of the effort covered, the period of performance, the amount of funding obligations in the current fiscal year and cumulatively over the life of the award, the name of the principal investigator(s), the names of the NASA contracting office and the NASA technical officer, and a standard government-wide designation (CASE code) of the appropriate field of science to which the award applies.
To have detailed statistics on NASA research contracts and grants for use in this report, the task group undertook a major data preparation job. Data from the Green Books were entered into a computerized database using a combination of optical character recognition (scanning) and manual data entry. The data represent 4 years taken at 3-year intervals, covering the decade from FY 1986 to FY 1995.
2
The term ''Green Books" refers to NASA's University Program Active Projects and University Program Management Information System prepared by NASA's Office of Human Resources and Education, Washington, D.C.
3
The figure of 8,141 shown here differs from the figure of 5,069 shown in Table 4.4 owing to reporting procedures at NASA. When NASA publishes its awards data, the agency lists all active grants, including those that have not yet closed and carry no dollar obligations in the fiscal year.
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TABLE A.4 Summary of NASA-funded Research and Development by Performer ($ thousands)
Performing Sector
FY 1981
FY 1982
FY 1983
FY 1984
FY 1985
FY 1986
FY 1987
Intramural
1,043,805
1,165,551
1,134,436
1,043,278
1,171,117
1,217,343
1,413,839
Basic
216,411
250,670
305,480
344,647
318,382
363,307
379,435
Applied
475,577
501,171
547,461
422,781
482,271
528,314
590,660
Development
351,817
413,710
281,495
275,850
370,464
325.722
443,744
Industrial Firms
2,096,328
1,432,593
901,847
1,120,182
1,311,876
1,276,774
1,479,327
Basic
160,722
118,961
114,551
198,387
181,273
280,517
228,008
Applied
318,502
272,114
251,327
399,380
381,421
430,838
482,244
Development
1,617,104
1,041,518
535,969
522,415
749,182
565,419
769,075
Universities and Colleges
171,308
185,630
189,357
203,846
237,260
254,027
293,644
Basic
124,418
125,876
140,081
148,442
176,886
182,928
220,060
Applied
32,734
29,976
29,600
28,445
36,535
41,906
42,964
Development
14,156
29,778
19,676
26,959
23,839
29,193
30,620
Nonprofit Organizations
98,830
104,511
97,289
89,419
82,167
101,127
102,529
Basic
14,770
18,191
22,571
23,875
18,570
27,102
27,478
Applied
24,346
29,590
33,954
30,313
25,472
34,080
34,040
Development
59,714
56,730
40,764
35,231
38,125
39,945
41,011
FFRDCs—Universities
79,008
182,519
305,120
350,255
512,366
542,407
475,303
Basic
11,775
18,409
30,626
35,183
51,500
54,585
153,149
Applied
23,647
36,876
61,099
70,269
102,756
108,864
98,287
Development
43,586
127,234
213,395
244,803
358,110
378,958
223,867
FFRDCs—Nonprofit
650
417
495
399
744
589
565
Basic
562
410
203
179
686
336
170
Applied
38
4
264
196
53
227
232
Development
50
3
28
24
5
26
163
TOTAL NASA (thousand dollars)
3,489,929
3,071,221
2,628,544
2,807,379
3,315,530
3,392,267
3,765,207
Basic
528,658
532,517
613,512
750,713
747,297
908,775
1,008,300
Applied
874,844
869,731
923,705
951,384
1,028,508
1,144,229
1,248,427
Development
2,086,427
1,668,973
1,091,327
1,105,282
1,539,725
1,339,263
1,508,480
Percentage Distribution
Basic
15.1
17.3
23.3
26.7
22.5
26.8
26.8
Applied
25.1
28.3
35.1
33.9
31.0
33.7
33.2
Development
59.8
54.3
41.5
39.4
46.4
39.5
40.1
Total
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
NOTE: Updated from Trends in the Structure of Federal Science Support, Federal Coordinating Council for Science, Engineering, and Technology, Washington, D.C., December 1992.
a Estimate.
SOURCE: Federal Funds for Research and Development: Fiscal Years 1994, 1995, and 1996, Vol. 44, Detailed Statistical Tables, NSF 97-302, National Science Foundation, Washington, D.C., 1997.
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Performing Sector
FY 1988
FY 1989
FY 1990
FY 1991
FY 1992
FY 1993
FY 1994
FY 1995
FY 1996a
FY 1997a
Intramural
1,335,244
1,733,436
1,968,411
2,112,018
2,248,412
2,333,246
2,271,257
2,253,736
2,403.417
2,271,038
Basic
343,494
453,571
462,326
443,568
493,224
531,300
490,977
494,548
502,309
471,238
Applied
487,057
621,095
585,278
689,997
624,747
718,691
669,163
516,974
568,085
558,897
Development
504,693
658,770
920,807
978,453
1,130,441
1,083,255
1,111,117
1,242,214
1,333,023
1,240,903
Industrial Firms
1,961,867
2,425,921
3,284,775
3,666,972
3,765,022
4,112,193
4,304,780
4,686,599
5,258.376
5,062,671
Basic
292,129
420,412
517,124
530,970
476,767
505,806
706,865
636,359
666,222
614,453
Applied
531,576
584,723
562,848
673,284
577,976
737,054
914,794
1,249,402
1,418,350
1,484,756
Development
1,138,162
1,420,786
2,204,803
2,462,718
2,710,279
2,869,333
2,683,121
2,800,838
3,173,804
2,963.462
Universities and Colleges
337,930
433,665
470,746
533,728
586,299
613,742
520,988
708,064
708,064
708,064
Basic
254,936
298,712
307,909
357,838
402,370
420,977
421,481
480,168
480,168
480,168
Applied
54,749
88,416
113,906
116,576
109,412
117,998
13,389
107,421
107,421
107,421
Development
28,245
46,537
48,931
59,314
74,517
74,767
86,118
120,475
120,475
120,475
Nonprofit Organizations
112,927
149,406
168,154
212,892
265,181
280,276
255,670
269,069
286,949
274,716
Basic
29,022
39,264
42,123
50,042
60,192
62,909
60,605
59,733
60,554
56,317
Applied
31,789
40,483
36,638
48,706
51,638
61,111
57,912
60,810
69,439
71,152
Development
52,116
69,659
89,393
114,144
153,351
156,256
137,153
148,526
156,956
147,247
FFRDCS—Universities
559,567
630,070
619,257
736,342
791,023
685,258
771,176
1,043,913
903,310
803,894
Basic
183,777
197,589
298,324
317,164
333,519
308,077
259,528
301,133
294,301
257,229
Applied
106,962
121,724
119,776
132,384
117,709
107,856
88,333
120,780
95,997
89,618
Development
268,828
310,757
201,157
286,794
339,795
269,325
423,315
622,000
513,012
457,047
FFRDCS—Nonprofit
790
3,083
2,402
1,940
2,205
2,198
7,022
3,771
3,771
3,771
Basic
384
1,856
1,530
1,131
1,269
1,176
1,988
1,292
1,255
1,267
Applied
208
171
127
112
49
78
1,022
559
611
629
Development
198
1,056
745
697
887
944
4,012
1,920
1,905
1,875
Total NASA (thousand dollars)
4,308,325
5,375,581
6,513,745
7,263,892
7,658,142
8,026,913
8,130,893
8,965,152
9,563,887
9,124,154
Basic
1,103,742
1,411,404
1,629,336
1,700,713
1,767,341
1,830,245
1,941,444
1,973,233
2,004,809
1,880,672
Applied
1,212,341
1,456,612
1,418,573
1,661,059
1,481,531
1,742,788
1,744,613
2,055,946
2,259,903
2,312,473
Development
1,992,242
2,507,565
3,465,836
3,902,120
4,409,270
4,453,880
4,444,836
4,935,973
5,299,175
4,931,009
Percentage Distribution
Basic
25.6
26.3
25.0
23.4
23.1
22.8
23.9
22.0
21.0
20.6
Applied
28.1
27.1
21.8
22.9
19.3
21.7
21.5
22.9
23.6
25.3
Development
46.2
46.6
53.2
53.7
57.6
55.5
54.7
55.1
55.4
54.0
Total
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
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Because of time constraints, the amount of manual effort required, and limitations in applying optical character recognition techniques to the hard-copy reports in its possession, the task group was not able to collect all of the Green Book data elements associated with each procurement award in the database it constructed. For example, technical descriptions were collected only for the very largest awards (i.e., those with obligations of $300,000 or more in any of the 4 years examined for the study).
Two of the task group's objectives in developing this database were to categorize the awards by science discipline and to estimate the research component of NASA awards flowing into the academic sector. To achieve these objectives, a framework was needed for allocating data in the newly constructed database. Table A.5 summarizes the analytical categories and coding structure used for this purpose. Under the column heading "Science Programs" in Table A.5 are four categories of space-science-related activities that account for much of NASA science funding at universities and colleges. The task group attempted to specifically identify all research contracts and grants, by title, for the largest of the awards (coded as RES in its database). The names of technical officers were also useful in this process. Specific contracts for hardware design and development were grouped based on technical
TABLE A.5 Analytical Categories for Summarizing NASA Awards to Universities
Categories of University Activity Supporting NASA Missions
Classification Codes
Comments
Science Programs
Major research grants (>$300,000 in at least 1 year)
RES
Classified on the basis of technical descriptions
Smaller research grants (<$300,000 in all years)
RIS
Residual smaller grants not otherwise assigned to specific categories
Instrument design and development
IDD
Includes flight instruments and advanced technology development
Spacecraft design and development
SDD
Complete systems (e.g., GP-B, EUVE)
Technology Programs
Technology development and application
TECH
Classified on the basis of technical descriptions
Technology transfer and commercialization
TTXR
Includes facilities established specifically for technology transfer
Educational Programs (including outreach)
National Space Grant College awards
NSGC
Program established by Congress in 1988
Training grants
NGT
All grants or contracts with NGT prefix (except space grants)
Other educational and human resource development
EDU
Classified on the basis of technical descriptions
Infrastructure and Program Support
Operation of NASA research support facilities
OPS
An example is the Poker Flats sounding range
Technical and engineering support
SUP
Classified on the basis of technical descriptions
Centers of excellence (institutional capabilities)
CENX
Variety of facilities sponsored by NASA centers and offices to serve specific programmatic purposes
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descriptions and then were subdivided into two categories, instrument design and development (coded as IDD) and spacecraft development (coded as SDD). These hardware contracts tend to be large awards relative to awards for performance of ground-based research and analysis; they are of interest in their own right as an illustration of the scope and variety of science-related activities carried out for NASA by the universities. Smaller research awards, of which there are literally thousands, could not be identified separately because of time and data constraints. Instead, these were estimated as the residual category after all of the other nonresearch-related activities were removed; these awards were coded as RIS in the database.
The two categories in Table A.5 summarized under "Technology Programs" generally cover NASA programs in aeronautical research as well as activities focused specifically on transferring aerospace technologies to commercial and other non-NASA users. The larger awards (coded as TECH or TTXR) were classified specifically on the basis of technical descriptions. Smaller awards (not coded separately) in technology-related activities include all NASA contracts and grants that were classified as engineering, mathematics, or computer science on the basis of CASE codes assigned by NASA program and procurement staff as reported in NASA's Green Books.
Awards in two of the three categories under "Educational Programs" in Table A.5 were classified on the basis of technical descriptions. These include all National Space Grant College awards (coded NSGC) and all other education-related activities not specifically tagged as training grants in the NASA procurement system (coded EDU). NASA training grants can be identified easily in the Green Books by the prefix NGT that appears as the first three letters of the NASA contract or grant number (coded simply as NGT by the task group).
The final set of categories in Table A.5 summarizes all NASA technical support and infrastructure activities carried out in the academic sector. All of these awards were classified by the task group on the basis of technical descriptions. For example, among the variety of program support activities that universities provide for NASA in the science arena are operation of the Poker Flats sounding rocket range in Alaska and, until fairly recently, operation of the NASA High Altitude Balloon Facility in Texas (all such operational contracts are coded as OPS in the database). Universities sometimes perform technical or engineering support functions for NASA; examples include editorial support for one of the NASA Headquarters program offices or the processing of synthetic aperture radar data for another office (all such activities are coded as SUP in the task group's database). The "Centers of Excellence" category is a catchall grouping established by the task group for specific contracts to universities in which the technical description implies that the effort is being funded to provide an ongoing institutional capability (coded as CENX in the task group's database to reflect the rationale that these activities are supported by NASA in order to establish and maintain a particular "center of excellence" for a specific programmatic purpose). These various broad infrastructure and program support activities relate to NASA's science, technology development, and educational support missions.
ESTIMATE OF NET SPACE RESEARCH COMPONENT OF NASA RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS AWARDS
The task group used the coding structure described above to categorize the large number and variety of contracts and grants awarded by NASA to universities and colleges to implement the agency's broad array of programmatic responsibilities. This categorization offers a means for characterizing the uses of funds awarded in all NASA contracts and grants to the academic sector. This approach also makes it possible to focus on the specific category of research contracts and grants of most interest to the task group's study of R&A programs, namely, the "net" space research component of NASA-sponsored
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TABLE A.6 Estimation of the Space Research Component of NASA Awards to Universities
Larger Awards (>$300,000)
Number of Awards
Categories of University
Programs Supporting
NASA Missions
Classification of Space Science Code(s)
FY
1986
FY
1989
FY
1992
FY
1995
Research Contracts and Grants
OLMSA disciplines
RES/LS
4
6
8
12
RES/MGS
3
2
8
5
Subtotal OLMSA disciplines
7
8
16
17
OSS disciplines
RES/AA
11
16
24
22
RES/SSP
13
16
18
13
RES/LPX
5
10
9
4
Subtotal OSS disciplines
29
42
51
39
OES disciplines
RES/ES
18
12
26
48
Subtotal OES disciplines
18
12
26
48
Subtotal above: net space research
54
62
93
104
Percentage of total NASA awards
1.9
1.7
1.9
2.1
Other Space Science Activities
Instrument design and development
IDD/Various
25
39
42
38
Spacecraft design and development
SDD/Various
3
3
4
4
Operation of science facilities
OPS/Various
2
2
9
9
Operation of support facilities
SUP/Various
7
11
5
6
Centers of excellence
CENX/Various
2
1
3
6
Subtotal (includes net space research—above)
93
118
156
167
Other NASA Activities
Training grants
NGT
9
8
14
23
National Space Grant College awards
NSGC
0
0
20
20
Other education programs
EDU
3
3
11
29
Centers of excellence
CENX/NSSa
2
17
26
37
Technology programs
TECH
8
37
36
31
Technology transfer programs
TTXR
7
18
17
19
Balance of NASA University Awards
Total university awards
122
201
280
326
a NSS = not space science.
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Smaller Awards (<$300,000)
Consolidated Awards
Number
Number
CASE Field
FY
1986
FY 1989
FY 1992
FY 1995
FY
1986
FY
1989
FY
1992
FY
1995
Agricultural science
13
8
11
4
Biological science
119
113
141
137
Environmental biology
15
23
26
27
Life sciences (not elsewhere classified)
33
24
34
84
Medical sciences
38
52
55
47
218
220
267
299
225
228
283
316
Astronomy
375
484
731
742
Chemistry
76
81
72
65
Physics
231
342
393
383
Physical science (not elsewhere classified)
97
143
242
187
779
1,050
1,438
1,377
808
1,092
1,489
1,416
Atmospheric science
266
301
371
375
Environmental science (not elsewhere classified)
61
88
152
188
Geological science
219
250
252
228
Oceanography
34
53
80
74
580
692
855
865
598
704
881
913
1,577
1,962
2,560
2,541
1,631
2,024
2,653
2,645
56.0
52.5
53.3
50.1
58.0
54.1
55.3
52.2
25
39
42
38
3
3
4
4
2
2
9
9
7
11
5
6
2
1
3
6
1,670
2,080
2,716
2,708
Various
217
449
729
933
226
457
743
956
30
30
0
0
50
50
3
3
11
29
2
17
26
37
Sum engineer, mathematics, computer science
820
1,035
1,092
1,073
828
1,072
1,128
1,104
7
18
17
19
Not distributed
78
92
138
196
78
92
138
196
2,692
3,538
4,519
4,743
2,814
3,739
4,799
5,069
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space science in the academic sector. Since there is no means of directly measuring the R&A and DA (data analysis) activities being carried out under NASA contracts and grants, the subset of such awards was estimated by excluding awards for all activities related to other NASA (nonscience) programs and missions. Although this approach does not yield a perfect measure, it represents the only workable means available to the task group to develop a reasonable basis for assessing net space research activities of particular interest to this study. The approach, which is reproducible and has the additional merit of providing a consistent basis for making a time-based assessment of net space research activities, was applied to the historical data for all 4 fiscal years for which detailed NASA award statistics were collected—FY 1986, FY 1989, FY 1992, and FY 1995.
Assignment Of Awards To Nasa Science Disciplines
The two-stage process used by the task group to assign larger and then smaller NASA contracts and grants to the general analytical categories described above was also used to develop historical statistics relevant to the major NASA science disciplines and the three NASA science program offices—the Office of Earth Science (OES), the Office of Life and Microgravity Sciences and Applications (OLMSA), and the Office of Space Science (OSS)—currently responsible for science management of the major disciplines in NASA Headquarters. These allocations are perhaps best explained by referring to one of the worksheets used to develop the award count statistics for the 4 fiscal years covered by the study. Table A.6 provides this summary.
As Table A.6 shows, the count of all NASA awards to colleges and universities was distributed by the task group into analytical categories under the headings "Research Contracts and Grants," "Other Space Science Activities," and "Other NASA Activities." The larger awards (those totaling >$300,000 in any of the 4 fiscal years) were assigned classification codes as described in the preceding paragraphs. Appended to these classification codes is an additional science discipline code. Each of the large research awards was categorized by major NASA science discipline and by program office as follows: all awards classified as life science (LS) or microgravity science (MGS) were assigned to the current OLMSA; all awards classified as astronomy and astrophysics (AA), space and solar physics (SSP), or lunar and planetary exploration (LPX) were assigned to the current OSS; and all large research awards categorized as Earth science (ES) were assigned to the OES. The resulting allocations are subtotaled in Table A.6 to provide a comprehensive total of all the "net" space research contracts and grants awarded by NASA to universities for fiscal years 1986, 1989, 1992, and 1995. In summary, this is a direct allocation of all the larger awards based on examination of the technical descriptions for each specific award.
For smaller awards, it was simply not possible to apply this very time-consuming award-by-award classification scheme. Allocation of the thousands of smaller awards was achieved by assigning each award to the corresponding NASA science program office on the basis of the CASE science fields assigned by NASA personnel responsible for the database used to produce the Green Books. The task group notes that these allocations are somewhat arbitrary, but if the CASE codes are reasonably accurate, this approach should provide a reasonable basis for assigning awards to each of NASA's three science program offices. Finally, as described in the previous section, all smaller awards with CASE field codes in engineering, mathematics, or computer science were assigned to NASA's technology development mission and excluded from the estimate of the net space research component of NASA academic funding.
The consolidation of estimates in Table A.6 sums both the larger and smaller awards listed. The interesting substantive result of this derailed estimating procedure is that more than half of all NASA
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contracts and grants to universities fall within the broad category of net space research, the principal focus of the task group's study. This estimating approach was applied consistently for each of the 4 fiscal years for which detailed data were collected. These data suggest that over the decade from FY 1986 to 1995, the total number of NASA awards to universities and colleges for the performance of space research increased by about 1,000—from 1,631 awards in FY 1986 to 2,645 awards in FY 1995. Awards for purposes other than research increased more rapidly during the decade, with the result that the proportion of awards for research declined from about 58 percent of the total in FY 1986 to 52 percent in FY 1995.
Caveats And Additional Observations
Descriptive Statistics On Nasa Contract And Grant Awards
Many task group members were concerned that the use of simple average statistics (especially the use of mean values) would not give an accurate sense of the variability or the typical value of award sizes, especially since these distributions are known to include relatively small numbers of very large awards and relatively large numbers of small-dollar-value awards. To address similar concerns, statistics on new versus continuing awards were tabulated to allow for the fact that some awards continue for very long periods whereas other do not. During a period in which the total number of awards is increasing, the average duration of awards tends to decline because of the varying proportions of new versus continuing awards.
Coded Large Nasa Awards
In the process of developing data for analysis, the task group created a lengthy listing of large NASA awards that were then classified on an individual basis for purposes of this study. This listing, sorted by the major classification codes used to generate many of the statistical series reported in the text of this report, provides a basis for assessing the validity of the coding scheme used by the task group both for correlating activity types with the various awards and for assigning them to the major NASA science disciplines.
Representative terms from entire chapter:
space research
