Bridenstine: NASA may ask Congress for more money for James Webb Telescope

A NASA engineer is reflected in the mirrors of the James Webb Space Telescope﻿ at ﻿Johnson Space Center﻿.﻿ A NASA engineer is reflected in the mirrors of the James Webb Space Telescope﻿ at ﻿Johnson Space Center﻿.﻿ Photo: Michael Ciaglo, Staff Photo: Michael Ciaglo, Staff Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close Bridenstine: NASA may ask Congress for more money for James Webb Telescope 1 / 5 Back to Gallery

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine told U.S. senators on Wednesday that the agency might need even more money for its problem-fraught $8 billion telescope.

The James Webb Space Telescope, initially expected to launch in 2007, has faced repeated delays and burgeoning costs. In March, NASA announced that the launch would be delayed again to May 2020, which likely will push project costs over the $8 billion funding cap set by Congress in 2011.

If the telescope does breach the cap, Congress would need to sign off on a funding increase. But at this point, it makes sense to continue funding it, Bridenstine told senators at a Wednesday meeting of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies.

"We have spent so much money at this point that it's important" we continue, Bridenstine said. "We have to come to a meeting of the minds and figure out how do we go forward with the program if we need to go above the cap set by Congress."

The Webb telescope, the successor to the Hubble Space Telescope, is one of NASA's most complex and expensive projects to date, meant to revolutionize the way the world's understanding of planet and star formation.

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Last month, a 10-member Independent Review Board was tasked with reviewing the project, looking at the factors influencing its success as well as "reinforce the agency's approach to completing the final integration and testing phase, launch campaign, and commissioning for NASA's next flagship space science observatory," according to a post last month on NASA's website.

The board's review process will take about eight weeks, at which point members will present their findings and recommendations to the space agency. NASA officials will then review the findings and give Congress an assessment by the end of June.

When the Webb telescope finally launches, "it is going to see back to the beginning of the universe," Bridenstine said. "It has had its challenges because we are at the leading edge of technology."

President Donald Trump's budget proposal for NASA in the coming budget year includes funds to keep the project on track. However, it would cancel Webb's successor, the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST), "due to its significant cost and higher priorities within NASA," according to a budget document.

WFIRST was being built to study dark energy, exoplanets and infrared astrophysics, and the National Academy of Sciences recommended that it follow Webb.

But the cost of the project, set to be launched in the mid-2020s, has ballooned to $3.6 billion, well above initial projections.

Since Trump's proposed budget must be approved by Congress, work on WFIRST is continuing in the interim.

So on Wednesday afternoon, NASA announced that it had awarded a contract to Colorado-based Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corporation for the telescope's primary instrument components. The $113.2 million contract runs through June 2026.

Alex Stuckey covers NASA and the environment for the Houston Chronicle. You can reach her at alex.stuckey@chron.com or Twitter.com/alexdstuckey.