At COSPAR: International X-ray Observatory

In discussions with Mariano Mendez and Luigi Piro, they mentioned the following:

ESA has decided that XEUS as proposed is too expensive, and it has been dropped from the ESA long-range plan. NASA and ESA have met over the past few days, and have agreed to jointly explore an international X-ray observatory, which would replace Con-X and XEUS; the agreement for doing so has been written up, and it is expected to be signed today.