The Hubble is already past its mission lifetime. It is time to bring it down. Don't put more resources into it, but if there are resources available, let's get with the new program.
I agree..
The James Webb Space Telescope will replace the Hubble in about five years. It would be nice if Hubble could last until then, but it's not going to happen, especially with the shuttle out of commission.
Who cares if the original mission lifetime was conservative.
If it's like a toyota and everything is going wear out at once, so there's no point in replacing the alternator because the engine and transmission are weeks away from failure too, then I agree with you.
But if it's like a 59 Chevy and the tires are old but the engines still purring, then don't dump it. Give it to the kids and let them play with it. It's not like it's learned everything it can learn, and we need a new bigger scope to make advances. I'm not saying don't build a bigger scope, but the cost of maintaining and continuing to use this one has got to be relatively small at this stage.
No point in throwing away a slightly used but still functioning space telescope: sell it on E-bay to the highest bidder.
Yup, I'll second that. Hubble has paid us tremendous dividends, but it was never intended to last forever. In fact IIRC, the main batteries cannot be service, cannot be swapped out, and only have a few more years of service left in them at most. After that, Hubble's kaput no matter what. End of story. (Though I sure would like to have the optics for my backyard observatory!)