> as they are already on a tight budget They are NOT on a tight budget - even with the entire shuttle fleet shut down, they're spending more than they have in

> as they are already on a tight budget They are NOT on a tight budget - even with the entire shuttle fleet shut down, they're spending more than they have in all but a few years since 1970. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budget_of_NASA http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budget_of_NASA $17 BILLION may not sound like much in the insane scale of other federal spending, but it's a vast amount by any other scale.