Posted on 01/29/2005 11:32:33 AM PST by KevinDavis
Reports now indicate that the White House has pulled the plug on any further rescue or repair efforts on the Hubble Space Telescope. This seems to be a direct result of a blue ribbon panel’s recommendation to abandon efforts to rescue Hubble with a robotic system. All agreed that we are nowhere near being close to being able to build such a sophisticated robotic system in time to reach the Hubble before it fails, and that we do not have a reasonable chance of success with no damage to Hubble. The quoted costs were quickly escalating and there was no clear idea of how long it would take. In addition, it seemed that the canceled Hubble servicing mission was priced at the full cost of a shuttle mission (making the total cost seem much higher), while the International Space Station (ISS) servicing missions do not seem to include shuttle costs.
Before the recent selection of a company to research the robotic repair system, Skycorp, a satellite company, had offered to create a solar-electric space tug, an ion-rocket powered stage that, when launched to rendezvous with Hubble, dock with the spacecraft and gradually move it into the ISS’s orbit, a major orbital plane change of about 30 degrees. (This could not be accomplished using a chemical stage.) As noted by Dennis Wingo, author and founder of Skycorp, about a year ago, a similar system is being developed by industry to rescue and extend the lifetime of expensive Comsats. The vehicle would have been assembled at the space station manually due to the large solar arrays needed for the ion engine.
(Excerpt) Read more at space.com ...
Ping
And that is fitting.
Sounds good to me. How much does Hubble help in our mission to the moon and mars? If nothing, we don't need it.
So9
Build a *new* telescope even better then Hubble with newer technology. That is going to happen one day anyways. Lets get started now.
The primary cost of both efforts is labor of the scientists, engineers, and technicians to design and build either a robot to service or a new telescope to replace Hubble. Either way you're starting from scratch and can count on several years to complete the effort. Hubble will probably die before the work can be finished, so start work on a replacement. We may have a few years of time without a visible light telescope in orbit, but we can learn from Hubble and build a better device.
From what I have read, Hubble has exceeded its design life already. Lets just put up a new one and get on with it. I love Hubble pictures, but it may be time to move on.
It is obsolete and its performance can now be bested by large ground-based scopes. Let it go.
It's cheapest of all to say we're going to go 'new', abandon Hubble, then decide not to fund the new telescope after all. Of course, this means you end up with no orbital telescope but it's very cheap and satisfying while the publicity lasts and after that, who'll remember?
A very misleading and disingenuous statement by the author who certainly knows, knew or should've known that the currently planned servicing mission being developed by NASA and various aerospace corporations already has a working and highly sophisticated robot built by the same Canadian company responsible for building the shuttle's robot arm (MD Robotics). As a matter of fact, I believe the very fact that the robot already existed was one of the main reasons NASA went forward with the satellite servicing mission idea.
The general consensus where I work is the White House is simply posturing to get Congress to cough up the additional funds to save the Hubble. After all, it was Congress that wanted to save the Hubble so "we" (the collective we at work, not necessarily me) think the Administration is simply trying to force Congress' hand if they still want to save Hubble. Besides, the HRV mission is fully funded for FY '05 so it will take a long time for the project to realize it's dead if money isn't found for FY '06.
I do not seem to get your Space Pings anymore.
If I am not on the list for some reason, please put me back on it.
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