Summary

  • The Trump administration’s budget proposal for NASA for the next fiscal year includes massive cuts to the agency’s science programmes.
  • This will include the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, a fully constructed instrument, which was set to begin in two years.
  • It is likely that Congress will fight these cuts, although there is a concern that if the budgeting process faces delays, the White House could implement the budget as a request come the start of the new fiscal year in October.
  • This budget originates from a report that stated the White House was considering a 50% cut to NASA’s science programmes.
  • This report also stated that NASA’s acting administrator, Janet Petro, had characterised these rumours as “not credible sources”.

By Eric Berger, Ars Technica

Original Article