FY79 For FY79, DOE requested $4.6 million for SPS, while NASA requested no SPS funding. Although action on the FY79 authorization bill (H.R. 121b3) was not completed during the 95th congress, there was no dispute regarding the SPS request, and the $4.6 million is included in the FY79 appropriation bill for DOE research and development that was signed into law on Oct. 18, 1978 (P.L. 95-482). Despite the fact that NASA did not request any FY79 SPS funding, Congress added $2 million to the NASA appropriation bill (P.L. 95-392). This was a compromise Detween the $3 million added Dy the House and the zero addition Dy the Senate. A provision was made in the FY79 National Science Foundation (NSF) authorization bill for the Director of NSF, in consultation with the Administrator of NASA, the Secretary of Energy, the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy and others, to determine the need for NSF to provide support for a study of the feasibility of constructing SPSs from material mined from the Moon and/or asteroids. If the NSF Director decides that such a study is necessary, then $500,000 will be made available from the general NSF funds (that is, no additional money was granted to NSF for this study). The bill (H.B. 11400) was signed into law on Oct. 18 (P.L-95—414) , 1978. NSF is now in the process of negotiating a contract with the National Academy of Sciences (to be funded jointly by NSF and DOE) to perform such a study for completion in 1981. Other SPS Legislation in the 95th Congress In addition to the authorization and appropriation bills for NASA and DOE, three bills were introduced in the 95th Congress specifically relating to SPS. In the House, Congressman Bonnie Flippo (D—Ala) introduced H.R.10601 on Jan. 30, 1978 (later changed to H.R.12505), calling for establishment of a Solar Power Satellite Research, Development and Demonstration Program. A companion bill, S.2860, was introduced by Senator Mlecher. Hearings were held on the House bill by the Science and Technology Committee on Apr. 12, 13, and 14, 1978, and it was favorably reported from committee on May 6 (H.Rept. 95-1120). The House passed the bill on June 22 by a vote of 267-96. Hearings were held on the Melcher bill by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on August 14, although it was never reported from committee. Both these bills would have established an SPS program office within DOE, while allowing for contracted work to be done by NASA on the space segment of SPS. An appropriation of $25 million would have been made for Ff79 to study the major technical problems regarding the viability of the SPS concept. A third SPS bill, S.3541, was introduced on Sept. 30, 1978, Dy Senator Schmitt, focusing on NASA’s role in an SPS program. The SPS program office mould be set up in NASA, rather than DOE, in the Schmitt bill, and the same amount of money would have been appropriated for technical feasiDility studies. The bill was referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, where no action was taken. FY80
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