Congress puts billions for NASA’s Artemis back into Trump’s ‘big beautiful bill’

President Donald Trump’s “one big beautiful bill” extends the life of a flagship NASA program he once dismissed as “grossly expensive and delayed.”

His expected signature Friday would be an about-face worth potentially billions of dollars to north Alabama’s space economy.

Last month, the White House’s budget proposal for NASA included historically large cuts, mainly to the space agency’s science programs. But it also called for the phaseout of the Space Launch System and its Orion crew capsule after 2027’s Artemis III, which will put astronauts on the moon for the first time since Apollo 17 in 1972. SLS and Orion had been expected to be used in up to 10 missions in the Artemis moon-to-Mars program.

Congress, though, included nearly $10 billion in additional funding for SLS, Orion and the Lunar Gateway station. The provision initially came from an amendment by Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, who said “targeted, critical investments” are needed to ensure the U.S. establishes a moon colony before China does.

Both the Senate and the House included Cruz’s additional funding in their adopted versions of Trump’s tax and spending bill.

Sen. Katie Britt said on X the legislation, “delivers on major promises” and will bring significant investment to north Alabama’s space industry. That includes $100 million for construction and infrastructure projects at Marshall Space Flight Center and $4.1 billion for the Artemis IV and V missions.

Rep. Dale Strong, whose 5th District includes Huntsville, said in a new release, “From our space, defense, and manufacturing sectors to our working families, farmers, and small business owners — all of North Alabama will benefit from President Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill.”

If Trump signs the legislation, as he is expected to do, north Alabama stands to gain from at least two additional Artemis missions run from Marshall Space Flight Center.

A 2024 study found Alabama enjoyed $5.1 billion in economic impact due to NASA’s Artemis-related work — more than any other state. It attributed much of that to the reach of Marshall and the contracting it oversees.

Marshall Space Flight Center is NASA’s lead center for SLS, managing the booster, engines, stages, and integration. Marshall is one of NASA’s largest field centers, employing nearly 7,000 federal workers and contractors.

Major Huntsville aerospace contractors including Boeing, Dynetics, Aerojet Rocketdyne, United Launch Alliance and Teledyne Brown Engineering contribute to the development, production and operation of the SLS’s various elements.