Astronomers Plead for Space Telescope’s Life
NASA officials and leading astronomers say the James Webb Space Telescope, successor to the Hubble Space Telescope, should still fly despite mounting criticism, cost increases, and disagreements within the astronomy community.
Initially estimated to cost approximately $1 billion in 1996, recent calculations for the telescope peg its price tag at nearly $8.7 billion. An independent panel last year placed the blame for these cost increases on delays and mismanagement by NASA officials. These problems have even created a congressional scuffle, with the House of Representatives voting to zero out the telescope’s budget while the Senate produced a bill to fully fund it. The two are currently trying to reconcile the discrepancy.