Several NASA Projects on Chopping Block

WOW! Mike Griffin is putting the brakes on a lot of stuff at Lockheed Martin and Boeing. It's part of his plan to fast-track the shuttle replacement vehicle, CEV (Crew Exploration Vehicle.) According to a story at Space.com:



A previous Broad Area Announcement, issued by the directorate last year, attracted thousands of responses and hundreds of formal proposals. In November, NASA selected 70 of the proposed projects for contract awards collectively worth more than $1 billion. Seven of those projects, worth a combined $70 million over three years, were suspended the week of May 9 before they could be put under contract. However, industry sources said they have been told that any of the remaining projects, even those already under contract, could be canceled or put on hold as NASA reconsiders its technology investment strategy.




I say, good for him! Let's focus on the most pressing problem, rather than experiments testing the effects of long-term radiation exposure on satellite equipment. They still don't know what the CEV will look like, much less what it will be able to do. And 2008 is just around the corner...