As requested by the administration in February, it cancels Constellation, the ambitious program that was to have sent astronauts back to the moon to establish an outpost, but which no longer fits in the budget. NASA has spent more than $10 billion on Constellation in the past five years, mostly on the Ares I rocket and Orion crew capsule.

However, the compromise legislation does not cancel all of Constellation, as Mr. Obama had originally sought. Development of Orion, capable of deep space missions, is to continue, and the bill directs NASA to develop a heavy-lift rocket able to propel a payload of at least 70 tons.

The next skirmish is likely to be over the design of that rocket. The new bill clearly envisions a rocket built of components used in the space shuttles and Constellation’s soon-to-be-canceled Ares I rocket. The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, which wrote the bill, said in an accompanying report that it expected the rocket to include solid-fuel boosters like those of the shuttle or Ares I.

Some NASA and administration officials have considered switching to the Delta IV and Atlas V rockets currently used to launch satellites for the Air Force. They believe those could be more efficient and less costly because they would avoid infrastructure used only for NASA launchings.

Ms. Garver said that NASA would study all options, including the Delta IV and Atlas V. The legislation calls for NASA to report to Congress in 90 days with a plan for the heavy-lift rocket.