spacetoday.net: JWST suffers major budget overrun

Posted: Thu, Nov 11, 2010, 7:33 AM ET (1233 GMT)
James Webb Space Telescope (NASA)

An independent panel concluded Wednesday that the cost for NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will increase by $1.5 billion and its launched will be delayed by over a year, creating new scrutiny for the costly program. The independent review, requested this summer by Sen. Barbara Mikulski, found that poor budgeting and program management, and not specific technical issues, caused the program's cost estimate to grow from $5 billion to at least $6.5 billion and delaying its launch from June 2014 to September 2015. That new launch date, however, requires a near-term infusion of additional funds, including $250 million in fiscal year 2011, that may be difficult to find, thus further delaying the project. In response, NASA administrator Charles Bolden said in a statement that he is reorganizing program management at headquarters and at the Goddard Space Flight Center, where the project is run, including making unspecified personnel changes.