House Panel Proposes Killing Webb Space Telescope

[jimmy olsen]

The House Appropriations Committee Should Be Flogged!



http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/07/science/07webb.html?_r=1

Panel Proposes Killing Webb Space Telescope
By DENNIS OVERBYE
Published: July 6, 2011

The House Appropriations Committee proposed Wednesday to kill the James Webb Space Telescope, the crown jewel of NASA's astronomy plans for the next two decades.

The telescope, named after a former administrator of NASA, is the successor to the Hubble Space Telescope, and it was designed to study the first stars and galaxies that emerged in the first hundred million years or so after the Big Bang.

It was supposed to be launched in 2014, but NASA said last year that the project would require at least an additional $1.6 billion and several more years to finish, because of mismanagement.

Just last week, NASA announced that it had finished polishing all the segments of the telescope's mirror, which is 6.5 meters in diameter, but the agency has still not announced a new plan for testing and launching the telescope.

The announcement of the telescope's potential demise came as part of a draft budget for NASA and other agencies, including the Commerce and Justice Departments. In all, the committee proposed lopping $1.6 billion off NASA's current budget, which is $18.4 billion for 2011. The Obama administration had originally requested $18.7 billion for NASA.

Astronomers reacted with immediate dismay, fearing that the death of the Webb telescope could have the same dire impact on American astronomy that killing the Superconducting Supercollider, a giant particle accelerator in Texas, did in 1993 for American physics, sending leadership abroad.

Canceling the Webb telescope would "have a profound impact on astrophysics far into the future, threatening U.S. leadership in space science," said Matt Mountain, director of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, which would run the new telescope. "This is particularly disappointing at a time when the nation is struggling to inspire students to take up science and engineering," he added.

Tod R. Lauer, an astronomer at the National Optical Astronomy Observatory in Tucson, echoed his view. "This would be an unmitigated disaster for cosmology," he said. "After two decades of pushing the Hubble to its limits, which has revolutionized astronomy, the next step would be to pack up and give up. The Hubble is just good enough to see what we're missing at the start of time."

The Webb telescope, he said, "would bring it home in full living color."

The Appropriation Committee's proposal was the opening act in what is likely to be a long political drama, in which the Senate will eventually have a say. The measure is expected to be approved Thursday by the subcommittee in charge of NASA and the other agencies, according to Jennifer Hing, a spokeswoman for the committee.

Next Wednesday the full Appropriations Committee will meet again to consider the final bill.

[The Brain]

NASA said last year that the project would require at least an additional $1.6 billion and several more years to finish, because of mismanagement.

NASA actually said they have mismanaged it? I understand why the politicians are killing it, reinforcing failure isn't extremely attractive.

[Richard Hakluyt]

Maybe NASA should sell timeshares in it to non-American astronomers 

[Ed Anger]

 

[CountDeMoney]

Maybe NASA should sell timeshares in it to non-American astronomers 

Like the Chinese?

"Why's the Webb scope zoomed in on Edwards AFB?"

[Tamas]

I don't like this, but I can't dismiss them totally either.

It's fascinating what the science dudes can photograph and stuff, but almost always the things which reach the public are along the line of "Here is this thing. This is either X, or something entirely different. But one thing is sure: it's existence throws some earlier theories right out of the window"

Just admitting they can't figure out shit from this distance and spending that money on making space travel lucrative could be more worthwile for everyone in the long run.

[Neil]

It's alright, we knew this was coming for decades.  The US is in the process of surrendering scientific and technical leadership of the world, but it's not so bad.  The US still has their excellent high-end universities which is where many of the best scientists from other countries are trained.

[Razgovory]

It what you get voting Republican, Tim.

[Valmy]

Sorry all our public money is going to fund the most expensive national security state in the world and the most expensive health care system in the world 

Scientists are going to need to start putting on bake sales.

[HVC]

Oh noes! think of the children. Now we'll have fewer photoshoped images of the horse head nebula!

[Valmy]

Oh noes! think of the children. Now we'll have fewer photoshoped images of the horse head nebula!

Don't worry.

China and India will pick up the slack.

[HisMajestyBOB]

If they named it the Reagan Space Telescope this wouldn't happen.

[Tonitrus]

If they named it the Reagan Space Telescope this wouldn't happen.

The name is part of the problem...when NASA starts naming things after administrators instead of scientists, you know the bureaucratic machine has taken hold over real achievement.

When things are named after politicians, then the End Times have already come and it is too late to be saved.

[Josquius]

Sad.
Cancelling the space shuttle was really fair enough, but this could actually do some real science.

[DGuller]

Can't you learn the same stuff with a pair of binoculars?