FAME is fleeting
Missing in all the wailing about the cancellation of the Pluto flyby was news that FAME was cancelled. This next gen Hipparchos mission for 2004 would have extended astrometry and provided accurate paralaxes that would substantially improve the Cephied standard candle's accuracy. It was growing over budget. In my opinion, far more valuable science would be gained from FAME than in a fast flyby of the Pluto-Charon system, a mission strongly supported by the Planetary Society and more of the public.
-p