Posted: Tue, Apr 23, 2002, 7:50 AM ET (1150 GMT)
NASA is planning to close its office that studies orbital debris, but may restore funding for the office later this year. UPI reported this weekend that there was no funding for the orbital debris program, headquartered at the Johnson Space Center, in the agency's proposed fiscal year 2003 budget. The office uses radar data and other observations to model the population of objects 10 centimeters across and smaller; the US Space Command tracks larger debris. SPACE.com reported later Monday that the agency is considering adding funding to the program to keep it alive. An independent advisory group has spoken out against the decision to shut down the office.

Related Links:

•  UPI article
•  SPACE.com article