SPACE science under George W. Bush looks set for tough times following the
announcement of the US budget “blueprint” for 2002 last week. The 1.4 per cent
budget increase proposed for NASA is dwarfed by cost overruns on the
international space station. As a result, programmes will have to be cut. The
space station, a mission to Pluto, a probe to sample the Sun’s corona and the
X-33 space plane are likely victims.
The final budget won’t be ready until next month and will then be the subject
of months of wrangling in Congress. But NASA’s 1.4 per cent increase…
