at least for now. A NASA rep told me last June about VASIMR being canceled. That's bad news, but it's also the kind of thing that happens when a big-budget project like the ISS keeps eating the lunch of smaller projects. The inter-office fighting for funding scraps is sad but that's also how things happen when there are more good ideas than dollars in a research office.

I'd love to see VASIMR and other advanced propulsion concepts get increased funding but I don't know how it can happen in today's political environment. There just doesn't seem to be any pressure anywhere to increase NASA funding and the ISS continues to consume everything in its path. It's a financial black hole, the good ship Moneysucker.