Congress wants to Kill Hubble Successor
source: http://techland.time.com/2011/07/08/house-pitching-death-of-hubble-space-telescope-successor...
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In an attempt to further tighten the national belt, the U.S. House moved this week to cut the James Webb Space Telescope from the budget, effectively threatening NASA's follow-up to the Hubble, and the future of our eyes-in-space program. There's something poetic (poetically dismaying, that is) about the timing, too: Space shuttle Atlantis launched just this morning—the last launch of a space shuttle probably ever—signaling the demise of NASA's over 30-year-old shuttle program.
All it took was a voice vote by a House appropriations subcommittee to strip funding for the project. Trouble is, the program was already $1.5 billion and change over budget. It's behind schedule, too. The Webb Telescope should've launched in 2014, but it's currently delayed until 2018.
What's the big deal about yanking a space telescope? For starters, the Webb Telescope's actually more than your average collection of curved mirrors and lenses. In fact it's a full-blown infrared space observatory. Its mission: to scan for light from the very first stars, understand galaxy formation and evolution and study the origins of life in terms of planetary systems. It's also the only thing scheduled to follow the Hubble's mission, which ends (and apparently can't be extended) sometime in 2014.
Read more: http://techland.time.com/2011/07/08/house-pitching-death-of-hubble-space-telesco...
All it took was a voice vote by a House appropriations subcommittee to strip funding for the project. Trouble is, the program was already $1.5 billion and change over budget. It's behind schedule, too. The Webb Telescope should've launched in 2014, but it's currently delayed until 2018.
What's the big deal about yanking a space telescope? For starters, the Webb Telescope's actually more than your average collection of curved mirrors and lenses. In fact it's a full-blown infrared space observatory. Its mission: to scan for light from the very first stars, understand galaxy formation and evolution and study the origins of life in terms of planetary systems. It's also the only thing scheduled to follow the Hubble's mission, which ends (and apparently can't be extended) sometime in 2014.
Read more: http://techland.time.com/2011/07/08/house-pitching-death-of-hubble-space-telesco...
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Pezz
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Man will never know life beyond the moon.
- 11 months ago
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Pezz
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BKsaysAction
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So right after the end of the Space Shuttle program, Republicans want to end the funding of a Space telescope the entire world will use to further our knowledge.
They can afford 649 billion in national defense but not a couple billion for our future? Disgusting.
- 11 months ago
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BKsaysAction
