Stephen Clark @ Spaceflight Now reports that the U.S. Senate passed a US$18.7 billion budget for NASA on Sunday, sending to the White House a bill asserting new congressional oversight of the embattled Constellation moon program and funding a replacement climate satellite. The omnibus spending bill, which also covers other areas of government, will fund NASA through next September. The House approved the measure last week, with Obama likely to sign the bill this week.

In the bill, appropriators inserted language shielding the Constellation program from termination without congressional approval. Obama is considering alternatives for the future of the U.S. human space program after an independent committee said the moon project is unsustainable under current budget conditions. The White House could continue with the Constellation program, add funding, or scrap the project in favor of a new plan. Congress is providing US$3.8 billion for NASA's exploration programs, as requested by the administration earlier this year.

Obama has not announced when he will weigh in on the space program's future. Congress is directing NASA to continue designing a heavy-lift cargo launch vehicle, providing $100 million to fund the work. The Ares 5 rocket is NASA's current design for such a booster. Another US$50 million in the NASA budget would go toward assessing satellite servicing capabilities for the manned Orion spacecraft, particularly for observatory-class scientific missions. The 2010 budget bill provides a increase of US$942 million over NASA's 2009 funding level. NASA has been operating under a continuing resolution at the previous year's budget.