Money to Fix Space Telescope May Be Cut by White House

Money to Fix Space Telescope May Be Cut by White House

"Officials in the Bush administration and in Congress, who asked not to be identified because the budget has not been officially sent to Congress, said NASA was one of the few agencies that would get a proposed budget increase next year. However, a mission to service Hubble, estimated to exceed $1 billion, will not be part of that package, they said.

The aging observatory, considered one of NASA's greatest achievements, could die in orbit by 2007 or 2008 if deteriorating batteries and gyroscopes that aim it are not replaced..."

And the Washington Post notes it's not a mattter of saving money or even, in the unending chorus of space haters, spending it "on Earth":

"Sources said the administration made the decision despite its intention to ask Congress for a 4.6 percent budget increase for NASA to $17 billion. The request is expected to focus on plans to reorient NASA's priorities toward President Bush's "Vision for Space Exploration" to the moon and Mars..."

Space