Consider a federal agency committed to an ambitious program, but chronically over budget and behind schedule. Since the U.S. spends billions every year on space programs, you might expect Congressional Republicans to applaud a dose of fiscal discipline,

But it turns out many conservatives have a soft spot for NASA, despite its difficulty in keeping to a budget. They have joined a bipartisan outcry against the Obama administration’s decision to raise NASA’s funding by merely $300 million, jeopardizing jobs in many congressional districts.

Republicans like Richard Shelby and Kay Bailey Hutchison are rivals when it comes to NASA spending, but both have raised their voices against the budget.

Hutchison, from Texas, wants to keep the shuttles flying despite the long-established plan to take them out of service this year. “If President Obama has his way, the U.S. will retire the space shuttle program later this year,” she lamented in the Houston Post. “We will have no choice but to face the reality that we will be totally dependent on Russia for access to space.”

Shelby, whose district includes the Marshall Space Flight Center, makes the case for pressing on with Constellation, and President George W. Bush’s plan to eventually return astronauts to the moon.

“The president’s proposed NASA budget begins the death march for the future of U.S. human space flight,” he wrote.

NASA does indeed face a crisis ”“ one that’s been apparent since Bush set his ambitious space goals, and then failed to raise the money to support them.

A presidential commission last year came to the conclusion that the Constellation rockets, crew capsule and lunar lander were unlikely to be ready much before 2020. With the shuttles due to retire this year, and no realistic way to fill this 10-year gap, the Obama administration has chosen a new path.

The details remain to be spelled out, but the plan includes funds for rocket research, and to encourage private contractors to develop vehicles capable of providing access to the space station and other destinations in low earth orbit.

Obama has promised to provide more details about his new strategy on April 15, when he will host a conference on NASA’s future. His spending plans may not be expansive enough for some big-spending Republicans, but $19 billion a year should be enough to continue meaningful exploration of space.