Today’s vote was, no doubt, a massive disappointment to supporters of the James Webb Space Telescope. One of the grandest technological and scientific undertakings in human history is at risk. A multitude of discoveries, unimagined, may be deferred for generations. Thousands of jobs are on the line, from research universities to the aerospace industry. And a profound source of inspiration for the next generation of scientists and engineers may be extinguished.

I can say with confidence, however, that the online grassroots science community is energized: Save the James Webb Space Telescope | Facebook. Over 3,000 people have said “No” on Facebook, Twitter (#SaveJWST #JWST), and reddit to slashing JWST funds, many of whom have also written or called their Congressional Representatives and signed the petition.

Now that the bill is heading to the floor for a full House vote, the most powerful thing we can do is to continue to contact our House members and Senators. Let’s flood those Congressional inboxes in support of the Next Generations’ Hubble.

We cannot afford to repeat the technological and scientific blunder of the 1993 super collider. If the United States is to lead in space science, it must not cower in the face of short-term economic woes.

This time, we WRITE and FIGHT for SCIENCE!

Raphael Perrino

Organizer, SaveJWST

contact@rperrino.com