Panel Urges (maned) Mission to Keep Hubble Telescope Operating

[papau]

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-hubble14jul14.story

Panel Urges Mission to Keep Hubble Telescope Operating
Its scientific returns 'are far from their natural end,' a commission reports in calling on NASA to service and repair the satellite.
By Elizabeth Shogren Times Staff Writer July 14, 2004

WASHINGTON — The Hubble Space Telescope is worth saving, a National Research Council panel said Tuesday in urging NASA to pursue a shuttle flight or a robotic mission to repair it.

As recently as January, the telescope's days appeared to be numbered. Influenced by President Bush's plans to develop new spacecraft to send humans to Mars, NASA announced it was canceling all shuttle servicing missions to Hubble. The telescope would continue to operate until 2007 or 2008 without inspection or repair, the space agency estimated.

But the committee — which was charged with evaluating the telescope and assessing options to extend its life — stressed in its interim report that the "scientific returns from Hubble are far from their natural end."

"The Hubble Space Telescope is arguably the most important telescope in history," the panel said.

NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe agreed with the assessment from the National Research Council, a branch of the National Academies.<snip>

The committee said that the technologies required for proposed robotic service missions remained uncertain, and so it was too early to exclude the possibility of a manned flight. As a result, it urged NASA to continue aggressively pursuing both alternatives.<snip>

[shoelace414]

1. the telescope is junk science

it has an anti-catholic bias, the univerise is only 6,000 years old.

[northzax]

2. wow, will they use

Zebras or Lions? both have great manes, it's a tough call.

sorry, couldn't resist.

[papau]

3. For those of us for whom English is a second language - LOL

nice catch

:-)

[northzax]

4. hey, didn't mean to pick on you

I've just had too much coffee this mornning!

:)

[papau]

5. I know what you mean - I am to strech a cup to last 8 hours - and I do

not do so -

so the meds get screwed up

and attitude changes occur.

:-)

Besides - it was a funny mistake!

nice catch!

:-)

[One_Life_To_Give]

6. Duplicitous?

NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe agreed with the assessment from the National Research Council{/I]

Wasn't O'keefe opposed to saving Hubble just a couple months ago?

[papau]

7. yes! - seemed not able to get to space station a problem - but since then

we found out that getting to the space station would not save anyone!

We lack means to get 5 to 10 folks into space station - and then to get them home!

So the robot plan only gave a few more welfare contracts out to Haliburton - and were not a logical response given the likelyhood of failure comparred to a manned mission.