U.S. BUDGET:
Pluto and Pork Win Out at NASA
Andrew Lawler
At first glance, NASA's $14.8 billion budget for 2002, up 3.8% over this year, appears to mark a modest victory for an agency struggling with cost overruns and a leadership vacuum. But hidden in the fine print is $532 million for 136 projects put forward by individual legislators--nearly double last year's total and the largest amount of earmarks in the agency's history.