The James Webb Space Telescope, a huge, orbiting infrared telescope designed to take up where the Hubble Space Telescope leaves off in deepening our understanding of the universe, is in jeopardy of being canceled. The program is both far over budget and behind schedule, leading the House committee writing NASA's budget to stop funding JWST in the early phases of hammering out the next budget.
Though only preliminary, the committee's decision has upset a large part of the science community. While that's understandable, the current fiscal state of the federal government has to be acknowledged. Keeping JWST is still possible, but its backers will have to deal with the political realities of the moment.
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