Endi 2011 / Daniel/Jason/Kevin/Marc/MiHe/Parth/Simrun

Turns Case – Kills NASA

But what next for NASA? One answer, and an important one, is the replacement of Hubble. In its early days, Hubble was beset by problems. Even after launched into orbit, the telescope had to be repaired in order for it to function correctly. That mission, incidentally, was only able to be undertaken because of the space shuttle. Since then Hubble has gone on to thrill the world with amazing pictures of the cosmos. More importantly, it has allowed astronomers to gain a much better understanding of the universe itself. Hubble’s lifespan, like that of the shuttle itself, is coming to a close. Unlike the shuttle, NASA is building a replacement. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will be an advancement as far beyond Hubble as the space shuttle is beyond the Mercury capsule. But Congress wants to kill it. Killing the JWST “would be an unmitigated disaster for cosmology,” Tod Lauer of the National Optical Astronomy Observatory told the Guardian newspaper. “After two decades of pushing the Hubble to its limits, which has revolutionised astronomy, the next step would be to pack up and give up. The Hubble is just good enough to see what we’re missing at the start of time.” Without the shuttle, without the JWST, without a plan to go back to the moon or take steps to Mars, and without even the ability to move people to and from the International Space Station, is there really even a reason to keep NASA around? Conservatives and Constitutionalists might argue, and not without merit, that American taxpayers should not be forced to pay for the federal government to play with expensive toys in space. Killing NASA’s top programs in order to trim its comparatively modest budget is little more than grandstanding. It will do nothing to either fix the nation’s economic problems, nor will it move the nation even one step back to a more constitutional republic.

Turns Case – Chilling Effect on Scientists

Cutting Whole Areas of Research causes a chilling effect on future innovation and international competitiveness

Space Travel 7/12 – (Space Travel, “Scientists warn on budget cutting, July 14, 2011, http://www.space-travel.com/reports/Scientists_warn_on_budget_cutting_999.html) mihe

U.S. scientific societies and universities have sent a letter urging policymakers, in their need to cut spending, to avoid singling out specific programs. The letter to key lawmakers preparing to debate the Commerce, Justice andScience appropriations bill for fiscal year 2012 expresses the opposition of more than 140 groups to any attempts to eliminate or substantially reduce funding for particular research programs, a release from the American Association for the Advancement of Science said Tuesday. Canceling specific grants or funding for entire scientific disciplines "sets a dangerous precedent that, in the end, will inhibit scientific progress and our international competitiveness," the letter said. "Everyone understands that legislators face tremendous challenges related to the deficit and the national economy," said Joanne Carney, director of the Office of Government Relations at AAAS. "But recently, selected research areas have been unfairly trivialized based on misinformation intended to challenge the scientific review process." Interdisciplinary research that integrates physical and biological sciences with insights from social and behavioral fields has become increasingly essential to scientific progress and innovation, Carney said. Removal of support for key fields of research "could have a chilling effect on scientists and young people considering a future in science," the group said in its letter dated Monday

A2: Webb not Feasible

Webb is 75% done – Northrop Grumman can deliver it

Space.com 7/12 – (Denise Chow – staff writer, “Scientists Condemn Plans to Scrap Hubble Telescope Successor,” July 12, 2011, http://www.space.com/12245-james-webb-telescope-cancellation-scientist-reactions.html, K.C.)

Astronomers are up in arms over proposed congressional budget cuts that would cancel an ambitious but over-budget space observatory that has been pegged as the successor to NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. The House Appropriations subcommittee that oversees NASA proposed a 2012 spending bill last week that would terminate the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) as part of wider-reaching cutbacks that would reset the agency's budget at pre-2008 levels. "JWST will lay the foundation on which a better understanding of the early universe will be built," Debra Elmegreen, president of the American Astronomical Society, said in a statement. "It has the potential to transform astronomy even more than the Hubble Space Telescope did, and it will serve thousands of astronomers in the decades ahead. We cannot abandon it now." The $6.5 billion James Webb Space Telescope, named after a former administrator of NASA, is an infrared observatory designed to peer farther back into the universe's history than ever before. The next-generation telescope is a follow-up to the 20-year-old Hubble Space Telescope, with JWST exploring deep-space phenomena from distant galaxies to nearby planets and stars. Under the proposal announced on July 6, NASA would receive $16.8 billion in funding, which is $1.6 billion less than last year and $1.9 billion below President Obama's 2012 request for the agency. The draft legislation pulls the plug on funding for the JWST, a project the subcommittee described as being plagued by cost overruns and poor management. Construction of the telescope has faced hurdles, including budgetary woes and delays to its targeted launch date. A panel investigation in November 2010 found that the project had overrun its cost by $1.5 billion, and blamed the troubles largely on mismanagement. Most recently, a revamped budget and technology plan estimated that JWST could launch by 2018. "We still have a long way to go with budget deliberations for Fiscal Year 2012," NASA spokesman Dwayne Brown said in a statement from the agency's headquarters in Washington, D.C. "NASA's budget submission already reflects tough decisions required in these difficult fiscal times and it still supports every element of the president's vision and the bipartisan NASA Authorization Act of 2010. We look forward to working with both houses of Congress to ensure we have a robust space exploration program and narrow America’s human space flight gap." In the wake of the proposed cancellation, NASA's deputy administrator spoke about the value that the Webb telescope would have to NASA and the scientific community, and the agency's commitment to see the project launched within this decade. "This is a perfect example of NASA revealing the unknown and reaching for new heights," Lori Garver told reporters at a July 7 news briefing from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. "It was a scratch program; we developed technologies. We will be prepared to lay out a budget that will allow us to launch the Webb telescope yet in this decade, within the next budget cycle." A full-scale, tennis court-sized model of the James Webb Space Telescope. The replica was on display in Battery Park in New York City as part of the 2010 World Science Festival. The idea of canceling the JWST project has been met with strong criticism from lawmakers and scientists, who consider the decision shortsighted. "The Webb telescope will lead to the kind of innovation and discovery that have made America great," Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) said in a statement. "It will inspire America's next generation of scientists and innovators that will have the new ideas that lead to the new jobs in our new economy. The administration must step in and fight for the James Webb Telescope."  In the statement released by the American Astronomical Society (AAS), members of the organization said that the JWST is critical to helping astronomers better understand the earliest formation of stars and planets, and the telescope's operation will shed light on complex mysteries of the universe. "As was true with the Hubble Space Telescope, recognized as a tremendous success by the public, scientists and policymakers, building the most advanced telescopes comes with the risk of unexpected costs and delays," AAS committee members said in a statement. Canceling the JWST would not only affect program members at various NASA centers, it would likely also deal a blow to Northrop Grumman, the company contracted by NASA to build the telescope. Yet even with the future of the observatory hanging by a thread, the company said the outcome remains to be seen. "The budget process in Congress is a complex and dynamic one," said Northrop Grumman spokesman Lon Rains. "We do not speculate on or try to predict the outcome of the process or what impact it may have on Northrop Grumman; however, we continue to closely monitor the budget process as it progresses. More than 75 percent of the hardware for the James Webb Telescope is built, undergoing testing or completed. We are working closely with NASA to deliver the Webb telescope as the agency directs."

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