As much as I beat my head against the wall over NASA and the Gov throwing my money away, there are somethings I would give more of my money to. This is one of them. A technological and engineering challenge, not with a blank check, but a clear mission that pairs both the manned side of the house and the robotics side and forces teamwork to get it done. I can hope anyways.
By why manned? Toss the scope up by itself. Toss a bunch of them up for what one manned scope mission would cost I bet.