Senator Rushes To Hubble’s Defense

[The Sushi Bandit]

http://www.space.com

WASHINGTON -- The Hubble Space Telescope’s staunchest congressional protector is urging NASA to reconsider its decision to curtail any further servicing of the 14-year-old observatory.

Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) said she was "shocked and surprised" by NASA’s decision, announced Jan. 16, to terminate what would have been the fifth and final Hubble servicing mission.

In a Jan. 21 letter to NASA Administrator Sean O’Keefe, Mikulski, the ranking minority member of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee that oversees NASA’s budget, askeds the space agency chief to reconsider his decision. Mikulski also asked O’Keefe to appoint an independent panel of outside experts to assess all the ins and outs of conducting another space shuttle mission to Hubble.

[burrowowl]

1. Good

I hope the Hubble can be saved.

[Ediacara]

2. Good for Mikulski!

Although I've been a pretty vocal proponent of manned space exploration on these boards, as I've said before, it MUST NOT come at the expense of the rest of space science.

If this is how Bush wants to go to Mars, then I say, "Fuck off! Mars can wait."

[damnraddem]

3. It's only one of the most-successful scientific enterprises NASA undertook

So naturally they want to write it off.

[creeksneakers2]

4. The Hubble brought us the universe

Bush wants to trade it for Halliburton.

[dusty64]

12. Too true,

I've yet to meet anyone who thinks chimp's diversion is a good idea. We just did an overhaul on Hubble and it deserves to continue.

[jburton]

5. Clinton supported Hubble

Therefore, it is automatically thrown out by Bush*

[punpirate]

6. In fairness to all concerned...

... the plan has been to replace the HST with the NGST (Next Generation Space Telescope), the James Webb telescope in 2011. The concern at the moment is whether or not the HST will last until 2012.

Some reports say that another shuttle repair mission is necessary to replace the telescope gyroscopes and batteries, so I guess it's become a question of whether or not the gyroscopes will last until the replacement is launched. The proposed mission also would have installed a new camera.

Spaceflightnow.com is reporting that experts believe the telescope has only a "50-50 chance" of surviving until 2007, so there's probably going to be a four to five year closed window where astronomers will not have a space telescope available, unless the European Space Agency gets a replacement in orbit in 2008, as they are now predicting.

A lot of astronomers are unhappy with this, I'm sure. Previous reports suggest that Hubble time has been fairly precious, and demand has been high. Many astronomers were hoping that the Hubble would continue to be repaired and would fly concurrently with the NGST, which would allow more telescope time for everyone, and would allow a different mix of cameras between the two satellites.

My guess is that this is because NASA has set a target date of 2010 for shuttle retirement, and the launch docket is likely already full of military missions, which have first priority. Therefore, Hubble repair gets shoved down on the list of priorities.

On edit, I would add that the latest problems with the ISS have probably also contributed to Hubble repair being shoved off the launch docket. No telling how many missions are going to be required to fix that PoS.

Kind of a shame, since the Hubble is still producing great images, and would continue to do so with some maintenance.

Cheers.

[AndyTiedye]

7. Could The Russians Fix It?

Or at least give our repair crew a lift up there?

[Flaxbee]

9. Yup, I have no doubt

... I also believe the Russians could have helped us save the Columbia shuttle, if only * weren't too "proud" (ahem) to ask...

Russia's got some pretty spectacular space technology & vehicles, they're only lacking in the funds to develop/maintain them. If only we'd work WITH other nations, instead of against them, we could have a pretty spectacular space program.

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

8. Do you really think Bush* will fund the NGST?

If it doesn't have to do with (a) making his friends rich, (2) proving that he is God's chosen weapon against evil, or (3) killing large numbers of people, Bush* has absolutely no interest in it.

This is the most anti-science administration I've ever seen.

[punpirate]

10. Certainly, it will get funded...

... since there are aerospace firms involved. Moreover, there's no mistaking from the name what the NGST is all about. The Hubble bears striking resemblance to the latest KH-12 spy satellites, and I won't be surprised at all if the NGST ends up looking like the next-generation spy satellites for which Boeing was recently awarded a contract.

The telescopes are an easy way for the spy satellite construction firms to add profits to R&D previously funded by the military budget. Some differences in optics, but the electronics and the packaging are very similar.

Besides, Bush is going to be gone in 2004, right? Things change under other administrations.

Cheers.

[Judi Lynn]

11. People are speaking out!

Public Bombards Operators to Save Hubble
Hubble Space Telescope Operators Receive Suggestions From Public on How to Save Craft

The Associated Press



BALTIMORE Jan. 23 — The operators of the Hubble Space Telescope are being bombarded by suggestions from the public on how to save the craft which NASA has decided not to service anymore and say they are considering all offers.
Of the hundreds of e-mails, about a quarter ask, "Why can't the Russians help?"

Others suggest towing it to the space station for repairs, said Bruce Margon, associate director for science at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which operates Hubble for NASA.

"They are enormously concerned, they are perplexed, they are angry," Margon said. "They ask 'What percentage of the NASA budget is this?' And we tell them it's about 1 percent."

The Baltimore-based institute will set up a Web site to take suggestions from the public, he said.
(snip/...)

http://abcnews.go.com/wire/US/ap20040123_191.html