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NASA to launch space observatory that will map 450M galaxies
31–40 of 134 posts
Re: NASA to launch space observatory that will map 450M galaxies
#32This is so cool, but I did not see a key piece of info in the article: does the ongoing operation of this mission fall under NASA's science budget and therefore at risk of cuts and defunding under Trump [1]? [1] https://arstechnica.com/space/2025/03/white-house-may-seek-t...
Trump created the Space Force so he will presumably want some amount of funding for rockets and what not. If Space Force fails it would make him look bad after all.
Re: NASA to launch space observatory that will map 450M galaxies
#33The Wikipedia article has more useful information: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SPHEREx
Re: NASA to launch space observatory that will map 450M galaxies
#34Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yep, it looks like it will be cut and closed, which is truly unfortunate. It’s disappointing to see that science nor innovation are not a priority for this administration. And this doge cutting of funding or even shutting down important projects will have long-term consequences, impacting research, education, and technological advancements that benefit everyone.
This is a proposal (not final) budget to be sent to congress. What congress eventually allocates is what matters.
Not according to the current presidential administration. Impoundment is their stated goal.
Re: NASA to launch space observatory that will map 450M galaxies
#35[flagged]
Unfounded, IMHO:
Musk is obviously a factor in space exploration.
Trump founded the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Space_Force
Also, as soon as China starts to put people on the Moon before Artemis can, I doubt POTUS would let that slide...
Re: NASA to launch space observatory that will map 450M galaxies
#36Do these missions ever build back-up hardware? What if the probe is lost because of a lunch mishap, or there is a malfunction during the deploy (see Viasat VS3 antenna deploy failure).
It is an added cost, but it cannot be that much compared to the overall R&D/tooling/launch/ect cost.
Re: NASA to launch space observatory that will map 450M galaxies
#37This is so cool, but I did not see a key piece of info in the article: does the ongoing operation of this mission fall under NASA's science budget and therefore at risk of cuts and defunding under Trump [1]? [1] https://arstechnica.com/space/2025/03/white-house-may-seek-t...
This one is planned to launch on Falcon so I wouldn't be too surprised if it's one project the administration spares.
Everything launches on a Falcon these days. No one else can catch up in terms of safety cost or speed.
Re: NASA to launch space observatory that will map 450M galaxies
#38This is so cool, but I did not see a key piece of info in the article: does the ongoing operation of this mission fall under NASA's science budget and therefore at risk of cuts and defunding under Trump [1]? [1] https://arstechnica.com/space/2025/03/white-house-may-seek-t...
Trump created the Space Force so he will presumably want some amount of funding for rockets and what not. If Space Force fails it would make him look bad after all.
Notwithstanding what you said, it is worth noting that the US Space Force has been a long time in the making: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Space_Force
Re: NASA to launch space observatory that will map 450M galaxies
#39Do these missions ever build back-up hardware? What if the probe is lost because of a lunch mishap, or there is a malfunction during the deploy (see Viasat VS3 antenna deploy failure). It is an added cost, but it cannot be that much compared to the overall R&D/tooling/launch/ect cost.
> What if the probe is lost because of a lunch mishap
Well, hopefully the people who are building the probe aren't eating their lunches on top of it.
(Yes, I know. Fun typo nonetheless.)
Re: NASA to launch space observatory that will map 450M galaxies
#40[flagged]
Unfounded, IMHO: Musk is obviously a factor in space exploration. Trump founded the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Space_Force Also, as soon as China starts to put people on the Moon before Artemis can, I doubt POTUS would let that slide...
This administration under through Elon is pushing to cut 50% of NASA's science funding. Mapping galaxies we'll never visit is a purely scientific endeavor. Trump seems to care more about military expansion or for lack of a better term more "masculine" expansion of space. The science stuff is not interesting to him, and I'm honestly not sure I think Musk cares about it that much anymore either.