Budget proposal for 2015 gives $17.5 billion to NASA

Space.com : Today the White House revealed its proposed budget for the 2015 fiscal year. It requests $17.5 billion for NASA , 1% less than was given the agency in the 2014 budget approved in January. The amount is $600 million more than was given in 2013, while the government operated under the effects of the sequester. Of the total amount allocated for 2015, $5 billion would go to fund science, with allocations of $607 million to the astrophysics division and $1.3 billion to planetary science. Funding for the James Webb Space Telescope would continue under guidelines established in 2012. The controversial mission to visit and capture an asteroid did not receive direct funding, but money was put into programs for developing the necessary technologies for the larger mission. One surprise was the loss of some funding for the SOFIA telescope, which will cease operating unless Germany increases its contribution to the project. All of the allocations are likely to change as Congress and the White House attempt to reach a final version of the budget over the next several months.