NASA has announced a two-year delay in the launch of its Ultraviolet Explorer (UVEX) spacecraft due to budget challenges, despite selecting it as the next Medium-class Explorer mission for astrophysics development.
On February 13, NASA revealed its decision to designate the UVEX spacecraft for an all-sky survey at ultraviolet wavelengths, aiming to identify sources of energetic events like neutron star mergers that produce bursts of gravitational waves.
Nicola Fox, NASA's associate administrator for science, highlighted the mission's potential to enhance understanding of nearby and distant galaxies while monitoring dynamic events in the universe. The $300 million project will be overseen by Caltech astronomer Fiona Harrison, who previously led the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) Small Explorer mission.
Partnerships for UVEX include the University of California at Berkeley, Northrop Grumman, and Space Dynamics Laboratory. Despite initially targeting a 2028 launch date when UVEX was selected alongside another proposal, STAR-X, for further study in August 2022, NASA now plans for UVEX to launch in 2030.
Alise Fisher, a spokesperson for NASA, attributed the delay to budgetary issues within the agency's broader astrophysics program. The decision to extend the mission's phase B, covering initial design work, was made to address budget challenges while prioritizing missions already in development.
Concerns about budget constraints were raised earlier by Paul Hertz, former director of NASA's astrophysics division, citing reduced budgets projected for fiscal year 2023. This necessitated extending UVEX's phase B to manage spending.
Alongside UVEX and STAR-X, two other projects were selected for further study as missions of opportunity. However, neither Moon Burst Energetics All-sky Monitor (MoonBEAM) nor A Large Area burst Polarimeter (LEAP) were chosen for development, with NASA citing budget pressures.
Mark Clampin, current director of NASA's astrophysics division, emphasized the need to prioritize missions in their prime operational phases amid budget challenges. Despite funding uncertainties, Clampin remains optimistic about maintaining a balanced portfolio across astrophysics endeavors, citing opportunities for current and future missions.
