In addition, BallAerospace & Technologies, the Boulder, Colo.-based firm building thespacecraft and instrument, gave up "millions and millions of dollars oftheir earned fee," Stern said. The Kepler team,according to Stern, proposed staying within the budget NASA approved in 2006,by cutting six months off the end of the four-year mission, scaling back somespacecraft testing, reducing schedule reserve and making some managementchanges. "They took us veryseriously," Stern said. On July 6, the Keplerteam returned to NASA headquarters here to present their plan.
#KEPLER TELESCOPE COST CRACK#
When he testified beforeCongress in May, Stern made clear that the program was all but canceled at thatpoint ? and that was before the Kepler team responded to his call to cut costsby asking for even more money.Īfter rejecting theirJune 1 request for another $54 million, Stern gave the Kepler team a month totake another crack at putting their program "back in the box." If you don'tthink I'm serious just come back to me with numbers like these again and thatwill be the end of the project.'"
"On June 1, theycame with a request for $54 million instead of $42 million, at which point Isaid: 'Kepler project, apparently you don't think I'm serious.
Stern told the team tocome back in June with a plan for getting the job done within the revisedbudget NASA approved for Kepler last year.
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