US Congressman Asks NASA To Cancel Planned To Cut The Chandra Telescope Budget

US congressmans disagreed with the telescope's budget cuts plan (photo: dock. NASA)

JAKARTA NASA's plan to cut Chandra's X-ray Telescope operating budget has been rejected by nine members of the congress. They asked NASA to reconsider its plans. The nine members of the congress admitted that they disagreed with the 2025 fiscal year budget cuts for the 25-year-old telescope. The reason is, this budget cut could significantly reduce the telescope's performance until it was finally canceled. To demonstrate its rejection, nine members of the Democratic Party sent a letter to NASA's Administrator, Bill Nelson, on June 6. They said that the risk of cutting this budget would be enormous. "If implemented, this cut will result in a significant reduction in science missions in fiscal 25 and begin the closing process in fiscal 26, wrote members of the congress, quoted from Spacenews. The letter explains that Chandra is still functioning well and should get proper maintenance. If Chandra's X-ray Telescope program is terminated faster than it should be, the astrophysics community will be affected.

"The justification of this cut is due to increased mission cost and inefficiency. However, Chandra's operational efficiency is still nearing optimal, its cost is stable, and the scientific profit per tax payer is very high," explained the congressman. At the end of the letter, the nine members asked NASA to maintain Chandra's full funding, which is around US$68.7 million (Rp1.1 trillion). NASA should also, "stop the plan for significant reduction at TA25 until the congress determines the allocation of funds for Chandra."