The NASA budget since 1995

For my accompanying blogs, see:

NASA’s purchase power has dropped 24% since 1995. Updated April 27, 2026. All budgets are in nominal, then-year dollars. The calculation of purchasing power (blue line) uses the NASA 2022 inflation indices. Credit: Edgar Zapata, zapatatalksnasa.com

…and a comparison of inflation indexes

A graph: A comparison of US general inflation and the NASA inflation indexes. Updated 4/1/2024. The data for the general inflation index is from the US BLS. The data for NASA's inflation indices are the latest from 2022. Credit: Edgar Zapata, zapatatalksnasa.com
A comparison of US general inflation and the NASA inflation indexes. Updated 4/1/2024. The data for the general inflation index is from the US BLS. The data for NASA’s inflation indices are the latest from 2022. Credit: Edgar Zapata, zapatatalksnasa.com

Notes:

  1. The purchase power line (the blue line, “Purchase Power (PP) in 1995 $”) was calculated using the latest 2022 NASA Inflation Tables.
    • A dollar in 1995, using the general US inflation index, would be worth $2.17 today for the same purchasing power, or, using the NASA inflation index, $2.23.
    • NASA would need a little over $2.23 in 2026 to purchase what $1 purchased in 1995.
    • That is, a NASA budget that kept up with inflation today would be just over twice the 1995 budget of $14.5 billion.
    • But, NASA’s 2026 budget is less than this equivalent purchasing power.
    • NASA’s budget, to have the same purchasing power in 2024 as in 1995, should be about $32 billion, but instead it is $24.5 billion, or 24% less.
  2. In 2021, the Biological/Physical Science line was moved from inside the ISS R&D line to inside the Science line. This was not a one-for-one transfer, as the ISS R&D line dropped twice as much as the Science line increased.
  3. Commercial LEO: 2020 $15M, 2021 $17M, 2022 $101.1M.