no bucks, no Buck Rogers

No money, no space travel. The phrase comes from The Right Stuff, a movie about the beginnings of US space exploration. "Bucks" is a slang term for money, while "Buck Rogers" was a space-traveling comic strip character in the early 20th century. Government funding for the space program has been down in light of recent disasters. It's a sad reality for us astronauts—no bucks, no Buck Rogers.