the messenger spacecraft (mercury surface, space environment, geochemistry, and ranging) is set to launch in 3 days, 15 hours, 38 minute, 40 seconds. at least that’s what is was when i started writing this. messenger is the seventh missing from nasa’s discovery program. it’ll be interesting to see how many of the future discovery missions get tossed with the new bush space initiative. something always has to go when a president drastically changes course and typically it’s the hard science programs that go first.