SciAm reports that leaked documents show that djt want to stop all NASA funding for the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope (and important climate science projects), despite the telescope being almost finished and ready for launch:
Five Key Climate and Space Projects Are on Trump’s Chopping Block
Leaked budget documents indicate that key NASA and NOAA research projects, such as crucial climate research and the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, are at risk of being defunded in 2026The Hubble and James Webb space telescopes, iconic for their views of the cosmos, won’t last forever. And now, their successor could be in trouble. The $4.3-billion Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope (NGRST) is nearing completion at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, but Trump’s preliminary proposal would cancel all funding for it, as well as for many other Goddard projects. During his first term as president in 2017–21, Trump, a Republican, tried repeatedly to eliminate funding for the Roman telescope, but was blocked by the US Congress in each case.
Artist rendition of the NGRST, a wide
field infrared survey telescope
The NGRST is slated for launch as early as fall of 2026. The mission is designed to explore dark energy, locate exoplanets, and conduct massive surveys of the universe in infrared light. Scientists describe it as “200 Hubbles” because of its enormous field of view and Hubble-quality resolution. By March 2024, the project was in its final design and fabrication phase, and had met its revised cost and schedule commitments.
Other circumstantial evidence: Despite bipartisan support for the NGRST, MAGA justified cuts targeting NASA’s science programs through rhetoric emphasizing “fiscal responsibility.” However, canceling Roman now would waste what has been spent so far, probably at least ~$3.5 billion of the $4.3 billion that congress allotted for the project. Or maybe djt wants to sell the almost complete telescope to Musk for cheap, and then he can charge people to use it after it is sent into space. Musk can then give djt a kickback for a good job well done.
This beyond outrageous. Most of the $4.3 billion, which includes costs for designing, building and on-ground testing the telescope, launch, and 5 years of operation, has already been spent. For rational, reasonable people, it makes no sense whatever to cut the remaining funding. The telescope is now nearing completion, with final pre-launch integration and testing underway at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland.
So why propose this funding cut at this point? The amount of money to be saved is puny compared to the amount that would be wasted (sunk cost) and the value of the knowledge that would not be used for the economy or the public interest generally.
What about Christian nationalism? Could that be relevant? Hell yes it is relevant. Highly relevant. In the relationship between CN (Christian nationalism) and some fields of science progress, including astronomy, there is religious ideological resistance to discoveries that challenge literal interpretations of religious texts. Obviously, not all Christian nationalists oppose cosmology or space science, but documented evidence shows that a significant number of CN elites and rank-and-file adherents view major scientific projects like the NGRST as threats to their religious worldview.
Why? Young Earth creationism, that’s why. Significant opposition arises from evangelical CN belief in young Earth creationism. In that belief, there was a literal six-day creation event about 6,000 years ago. Scientific evidence of a 13.8-billion-year-old universe, including data from the James Webb Space Telescope confirming cosmic expansion, directly contradicts their interpretation of Genesis. The NGRST mission to study dark energy and the universe’s accelerating expansion would further challenge these beliefs by providing additional evidence for the Big Bang theory. Many creationists reject the Big Bang despite its alignment with the theological concept of God’s creation of the universe from nothing. Presumably, they reject the Big Bang because it contradicts six-day creationist dogma and therefore they oppose the NGRST.
Qs: 1) Is it irrational or crackpot to think that CN dogma had anything at all to do with djt wanting to kill the NGRST just before it is ready to be put in space and used? 2) If CN dogma did play a role, would any CN elite ever admit it? 3) Is the main motivator just money for djt, e.g., selling it off to Musk for next to nothing, while getting a kickback?
(IMHO, no, no, maybe)