The "Space Station" is current "issue.
Needs russia for resupply and emergency escape module.
Shuttle can only stay for weeks at a time.
Congress passed law that says no russia unless certified that russia not
helping neuc wannabe's.
Russia cannot be certified.
What a mess.......
http://economist.com/science/displaystory.cfm?story_id=3738886
 HERE'S a wizard idea. Spend $40 billion building a big tin can in orbit
round the Earth, in order-at least in part-to keep the rocket scientists of
your former enemy from going to work for your current enemies. Then find
that a law intended to stop the current enemies getting their hands on such
rocket scientists' knowledge means you can no longer use this expensive tin
can. Confused? You are not the only one. Because that, in a nutshell, is
what is about to happen to American space policy unless the law is amended.
Indeed, it looks likely that if the law is not changed, America's entire
manned-spaceflight effort, and another $50 billion of spending with it,
could come to nothing.
==============================
"Max Power" <mikehack@u.washington.edu> wrote in message
news:d0undl$dvg$1@gnus01.u.washington.edu...

Voyager probes in funding crisis
Nasa's twin Voyager probes may have to close down in October to save

money,

the US space agency has said.

Launched in 1977, Voyagers One and Two are now more than 14 billion and 11
billion km from Earth, respectively.

They are on their final mission to locate the boundary between the Sun's
domain and interstellar space.

But the agency's Earth-Sun System division has had to cut its budget for
next year from $74m to $53m, meaning that some projects will be abandoned.

Although the Voyager probes are thought to have another 15 years of life
left in them, they are very expensive to run, costing Nasa about $4.2m a
year for operations and data analysis.

Other missions like Ulysses, which was launched in 1990 to explore the

Sun's

polar regions, might also have to be abandoned after the end of the fiscal
year in October.

Although the decision is not yet final, some Nasa scientists are preparing
themselves for the worst. Voyager project scientist Edward Stone of the
California Institute of Technology told Nature magazine: "We are currently
developing a plan for shutdown."
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/science/nature/4338245.stm

Published: 2005/03/10 19:58:54 GMT

� BBC MMV