[X] My Assistant

[Guest_Analyst_*]

It began with the cancelation of several ISS parts essential for conducting science: X38, US Living module, Centrifuge module. 2004 they canceled HST SM4 for "safety reasons" (LOL). The next Discovery mission selection has been delayed and there will be only one flight opportunity (Dawn and Kepler have been selected several yaers ago). New Frontiers 2 opportunity is in limbo and JIMO, the flagship with nuclear propulsion and 1000 kg+ science payload is dead.

And now, to save even more money (a tiny fraction of the monthly cost of the Iraq afterwar), is it considered to shut down Voyager 1 and 2 and several other "old" spacecraft.

http://www.spacedaily.com/news/voyager1-05a.html

All this to finance a "vision" that is still hopelessly underfunded. This administration is the worst for space science since the 1980's, when the US didn't launched any interplanetray probe for more than 10 (in words: ten) years (Pioneer Venus 1978, Magellan 1989).

Sorry for being political, but the next step will be shutting down two fully functional Mars rovers.

Analyst