NASA has killed a new X-ray telescope mission two years before its planned launch despite the protests of the team itself.
The U.S. space agency on Thursday announced the cancellation of the GEMS project. The Gravity and Extreme Magnetism Small Explorer mission was supposed to blast off in 2014 to study black holes and neutron stars. But external reviews found the project would likely come in over budget.
NASA says GEMS was approved under strict limits, unlike the price-busting James Webb Space Telescope to be launched in 2018.
"The GEMS project was initiated under a very well designed cost cap ... it was clear they would not be able to be completed within their cost cap," said NASA's astrophysics director, Paul Hertz.
GEMS was supposed to hold at $119 million, not counting the rocket that would launch it into orbit. Hertz said the technology needed for the instrument took longer to develop than expected, and that drove up the price.
"We are in the process of formally notifying Congress of this decision," he said.
Canceling the X-ray telescope mission will cost NASA roughly $13 million in contract termination fees, according to a report on Space.com.
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