Posted: Tue, Nov 8, 2005, 6:14 AM ET (1114 GMT)
NASA has told the team developing an asteroid mission to "stand down" from launch preparations, SPACE.com reported Monday. The Dawn spacecraft was scheduled for launch in June 2006 on a missiom to the large asteroids Ceres and Vesta, but has been told to defer work preparing the spacecraft for launch until further notice. According to the report budget pressures at JPL, which is managing the mission, is the cause for the delay. Project officials said they were asked to stand down "while an independent assessment team reports back to headquarters" on a number of technical issues, not specified in the report. There is no sign that NASA intends to cancel the mission, officials insist. Dawn has a launch window that lasts more than a year, unlike other planetary missions whose launch windows are typically no more than a few weeks long.

Related Links:

•  SPACE.com article
•  Dawn web site