The approximate 20 percent budget cut could force the closure of the Goddard Space Flight Center and would see projects such as the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope scrapped.

The preliminary version of President Donald Trump’s budget proposal to Congress, known as a “passback,” would cut the agency’s science budget funding nearly in half.

In a preliminary budget proposal, the agency’s science programs would see a 50 percent reduction, with a 20 percent cut to NASA overall.