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(IAAC) Pluto Mission takes a MAJOR hit! **Breaking News**



Greetings to all, 

Ted Nichols II here from PlutoMission.Com 

President George W. Bush's budget for NASA has been received, and acted upon 
already to some extent. The budget includes "No funding for the Pluto-Kuiper 
Express and Solar Probe missions." 

More information is available by viewing this website: 
http://www.space.com/news/spaceagencies/budget_nasa_010228.html 

The budget cuts will also affect the International Space Station, with the US 
X-33, US Habitation Module, and Centrifuge Accommodation Modules expected to 
soon be cancelled. However the budget promises, the station will be complete 
"once the space station is ready to accept major international hardware 
elements." 

I expect much more info to come out in the coming months regarding how NASA 
will be working with its budget. 

------------------- 

In a telephone interview with me today, Don Savage from NASA Headquarters 
said the following: 

"The current status for the Pluto Mission would be regarded as "No Funding." 
" 

NASA HQ has sent a directorate to Congress, as required, stating it has 
closed the Announcement of Opportunity for the Pluto Mission, and will not be 
accepting Proposals for such a mission. It was also stated resources are 
given to directed technology in space propulsion, such as solar electric, 
etc. So missions like DS1 may test certain methods to get to places faster, 
such as the outer planets. While the mission is currently not alive, it does 
give some hope to someday getting there in a faster period. 

------------------- 

While a major blow to efforts set up by PlutoMission.Com, and the Planetary 
Society's efforts, from the PlutoMission.Com end, I can assure you it is not 
the end of the road. There is still much to do, and in the coming days I will 
work on a strategy to combat the current "punch." The website will be updated 
shortly to reflect the situation. 

I've had a great ride so far in my efforts, so I don't see myself giving up. 
Since October, I've been to NASA Headquarters, and back again to Washington 
DC for a Planetary Sponsored Pluto Event, I've received MAJOR press for my 
efforts, and much more has happened that I hope I'll be able to comment on 
later. My website went from something my teachers didn't think would amount 
to much, to an internationally publicized site, mentioned in tons of 
publications, and getting over 10,000 signatures. It's amazing sometimes what 
you can do when you put your mind to it, I'm certainly proud of what I've 
done so far, and what I will reach to do in the future. 

If anyone has any questions feel free to e-mail me at tanichols@peoplepc.com. 
As always, I'm open for press interviews during ET evenings, at 717-932-1783. 

Warm Regards, 

Ted A. Nichols II 

Campaign Manager - PlutoMission.com 

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