Posted: Fri, Aug 24, 2001, 11:39 AM ET (1539 GMT)
NASA plans to shut down the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) at the end of next month, the Associated Press reported Friday. NASA officials said they cannot continue to afford to pay the $10 million a year it takes to operate the 10-year-old spacecraft, opting to spend its funding on new programs, such as a replacement satellite, AURA, scheduled for launch in 2003. Scientists are upset with the decision, particularly those who depended on ozone layer data that the spacecraft provided. The spacecraft will either be retrieved by the shuttle, which deployed the spacecraft during the STS-48 mission in 1990, or be allowed to reenter between 2016 and 2027.

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•  AP article