The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration‘s future effort to capture imagery of coronal mass ejections would cost $182 million from 2017 to 2021.The Space Weather Research and Forecasting Act requires NOAA to capture images of earth-directed CMEs or the sun’s release of large quantities of matter and electromagnetic radiation, CBO said Tuesday.
The amount will be used to obtain a coronagraph, a spacecraft and a launch vehicle by 2022, according to the cost estimate report.
NOAA would need additional budget in 2022 and beyond to operate and maintain the spacecraft and coronagraph, CBO added.
The report stated the bill will work to codify multi-agency efforts under the National Space Weather Program and will not impose costs on state, local, or tribal governments.
CBO said enacting the bill would not increase net direct spending or on-budget deficits in the four consecutive 10-year periods starting in 2027.
