Posted on 02/13/2006 6:15:42 PM PST by KevinDavis
NASA Administrator Michael Griffin said last week that, in effect, reports of the demise of the Terrestrial Planet Finder - and perhaps other major space-exploration projects for the future - have been exaggerated.
He also made a strong statement of support for sending a space shuttle mission to the Hubble Space Telescope for repair and upgrades within two years.
Speaking at a luncheon sponsored by the National Space Club, Griffin acknowledged that his agency's proposed budget for fiscal year 2007 contained no funding for the giant telescope, which has been planned for some time as a possible means of imaging Earth-like planets orbiting distant stars. NASA's budget proposal, released last week, said essentially that funding constraints had forced the TPF's postponement indefinitely.
(Excerpt) Read more at space-travel.com ...
Can't we do both?
The Hubble did its job, but I think we should develop something better...
I know but I would hate to see it go...Hubble has served us well.
If the planet finder will work, let's git er done.
If the Hubble can find planets, then keep it.. If not, scrap it..
Not really. Choices are being made. NASA is not likely to find its budget increased enough to do all the things that could be done. The manned Mars mission is probably never going to be done. The permanently manned moon base will probably never be done. The earth-finder will probably never be done. Hubble will probably not be saved. Once the new admin takes office in '09, the ISS and the Space Shuttle will be cancelled.
That is the good news. The budget will be held at the present level plus inflation, which is where it has been for 30 years and under which nothing has been done as far as the moon is concerned.
What do mean "keep the Hubble"?
We just put it up there!
The point is the Hubble CANT do it. I agree - save it if we can, but the TPF is specifically designed to filter out the light stars produce to reveal planets orbiting them. This is the main reason we cant find more planets today. TPF would then analyze the light from those planets to determine thier chemical composition and potential for harboring life. The Hubble was not designed to do this.
You really need to have a little faith. I KNOW people inside NASA, and some great things will happen. The Pluto mission being just one example.
LLS
The manned Mars mission is probably never going to be done. The permanently manned moon base will probably never be done. The earth-finder will probably never be done. Hubble will probably not be saved. Once the new admin takes office in '09, the ISS and the Space Shuttle will be cancelled... The budget will be held at the present level plus inflation, which is where it has been for 30 years and under which nothing has been done as far as the moon is concerned.I'm afraid you're right. The idea should be to shoot for manned Mars missions (and maybe wind up with a plant the flag, gather rocks type mission) and use the heavy lift technology to build and maintain a permanent lunar base.
The Voyager downlink operated on volunteers and no budget for a number of years, which worked well because the equipment was so old it couldn't be used for anything else, and the data stream was so small that it could be handled with other borrowed obsolete equipment as it became available.
If the Hubble is to be repaired (and for that matter, if the TPF is to be launched), it will have to be through the use of the STS. Nothing else exists which can do the job. Yet. Once there's heavy lift capability, a big bin could be launched, big enough to contain the Hubble, and the technicians could do the PM, upgrades, and whatever else in a shirtsleeve environment at such time as it was convenient. The Hubble could then be redeployed (without ever having been brought down) and the bin shipped to some parking orbit for future use.
NASA made me a job offer. I declined in favor of taking a vacation on the Dubai ski slopes.
How's the snow?
LLS
The snow is fine, but the slope is strictly beginners. Not a surprise in a tourist resort: nothing is too difficult.
Well, once we get back to the moon a manned dark side observatory shouldn't be out of the question.
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