President Trump signed the $19.5 billion NASA Transition Authorization Act for 2017 that signals major support on Capitol Hill for programs being developed in Alabama. The bill designates the Mission to Mars as NASA's primary long-term space exploration goal.

It also identifies the Space Launch System as the agency's long-term deep space rocket. The rocket is being developed at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville.

U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Huntsville) is photographed with President Donald J. Trump at the signing of the 2017 NASA Authoritization Act on March 21, 2017. (White House photo)

Trump signed the law in the Oval Office today in a ceremony attended by Alabama lawmakers. Visible in the White House photo were Alabama U.S. Reps. Martha Roby, Mo Brooks and Robert Aderholt; Acting NASA Administrator Robert Lightfoot; and U.S. Sens. Luther Strange (R-Ala.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who represents the Johnson Space Center in Houston.

"As the congressman from Alabama's Fifth District, representing the Marshall Space Flight Center, I was honored to be invited to the White House for President Trump's signing of the NASA Transition Authorization Act of 2017," Brooks said in a statement. "This legislation gives NASA the long-term purpose and stability NASA needs to accomplish its robust missions, including the Space Launch System and Orion Spacecraft. In signing this legislation, President Trump demonstrated his strong support for NASA and reaffirmed America's commitment to human spaceflight and the journey to Mars. These programs play into the strengths of the Marshall Space Flight Center and focus on areas in which Marshall has excelled for more than half a century."

The authorization act is the official guidance from Congress on what it wants NASA to do and how much it will authorize spending to reach those goals. It does not provide funding. Funding comes later from the congressional appropriations committees. The $19.5 billion would be an increase from the $19.1 billion Trump has requested for NASA next year.