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https://www.space.com/space-exploration/james-webb-space-telescope/nasa-james-webb-space-telescope-faces-20-percent-budget-cuts>
'The scientists behind NASA's largest and most powerful space telescope ever
built are bracing for potentially crippling budget cuts, and the observatory is
only halfway through its primary mission.
The team overseeing NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has been directed
to prepare for up to 20% in budget cuts that would touch on every aspect of the
flagship observatory's operations, which are managed by the Space Telescope
Science Institute (STScI) in Maryland. The potential cut comes even as the
space observatory is more in demand than ever before, with astronomers
requesting the equivalent of nine years' worth of Webb observing time in one
operational year.
"NASA is having budget constraints across the entire board, so the institute is
being asked to consider a significant — about 20% — cut to our operational
budget for the mission starting later this year," Tom Brown, who leads the Webb
mission office at STScI, told a crowd of scientists last month at the 245th
American Astronomical Society (AAS) meeting in National Harbor, Maryland. "So
the impacts of that, if it comes to pass, pretty much cut across the entire
mission."
NASA's $25.4 billion budget request for 2025 set aside $317 million to fund the
Webb space telescope, as well as the Hubble Space Telescope and Chandra X-ray
Observatory that together comprise NASA's currently operational "Great
Observatories." The Hubble Telescope program is facing a potential 20% budget
cut of its own, according to
SpaceNews. And Chandra is facing the end of its
mission, with NASA's 2025 budget request including plans to wind down
operations, with its budget dropping from $41.1 million this year to just $5.2
million in 2029.
But unlike Hubble, which turns 35 this spring, and Chandra, which launched in
1999, Webb is in its prime, approaching the midpoint of a primary 10-year
mission. It could last at least 20 years or more, NASA officials have said. The
mission is an international partnership between NASA, the European Space Agency
and the Canadian Space Agency.
"Frankly, this mission works far better than, really, most folks expected it
to, you know," Brown said during the Webb town hall event on Jan. 15 at the AAS
conference. "It's extremely worrisome that, while we're in the middle of the
prime mission, we're also maybe looking at significant budget cuts."'
Via Susan ****
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
