NASA Budget Woes

USATODAY.com - NASA plans for tight budget, may cut workforce

Projected savings in Shuttle operations have not materialized; as a result NASA has asked the White House for an additional $3-$5 billion through 2010. The costs of the war in Iraq and hurricane recovery on the Gulf Coast make any such increase highly unlikely. So, NASA Administrator Mike Griffen has requested options which include reducing the number of remaining shuttle flights, and changing shuttle process to handle just one shuttle at a time.

Reducing the flight schedule implies not finishing the International Space Station, abandoning the Hubble repair mission, or both. On the other hand, changing the processing flow so just one team on one shift is working, makes sense to me. They're only going to fly two or three missions a year anyway.

Of course, doing away with processing teams probably means thousands of layoffs and economic devestation of my hometown. But logically it's still the better option.