House Votes Down a Bid to Scuttle Funds for Space Station Freedom

The House on Wednesday turned back a spirited attempt to cancel construction of Space Station Freedom, the $30-billion, orbiting laboratory NASA plans to launch by the end of the century.

It was a victory for supporters of America’s manned space program. In a 254-159 vote, the House defeated an amendment offered by Rep. Tim Roemer (D-Ind.) that would have deleted virtually all of the $2.25 billion authorized for the program in the 1993 budget.

The vote to support the space station came as the House debated legislation to allow the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to spend as much as $47.3 billion over the next three years. Actual appropriations, including money for the space station, could be significantly smaller. A final vote on the NASA authorization bill may not come until next week.

The debate over whether to build the space station is certain to be revisited in coming weeks, as the House and Senate work through the fiscal 1993 appropriations process.

Nevertheless, supporters of the station, including Rep. George E. Brown Jr. (D-Colton), chairman of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, said the vote Wednesday made it less likely that the program would be canceled later.