As we sit on our arses and let the rest of the world pass us by. Our grandkids would curse us and rightfully so.
bingo - 56 = "As we sit on our arses and let the rest of the world pass us by. Our grandkids would curse us and rightfully so."
Ooooh, I guess the Chinese, Japanese and Russians have Top Secret Super Duper Ultra Space Telescopes on the launchpad as we speak. Well, that changes everything, don't it???
If this is what my grandkids curse me over, then I guess they'll have found a way to avoid paying the tax burden you and I are punting to them. They will have have worked their way pretty far down on the list that I curse my grandparents over. (I can hear them now - "Where's my rocket car Grampa, why didn't you invest in the Space Shuttle and the Hubble when you had the chance? All the Chinese kids have Rocket Cars!!!")
I shouldn't be so harsh, it sounds like you research some pretty far out stuff. If the Hubble was servicable by any other platform (a la Soyuz), I'd say go for it. But every dollar spent on the Shuttle (same goes for the Space Station) is another delay in developing a sane and affordable space transport system.
Chuck Yeager had a point that I think applies here. When urgent action needs to be taken, it is a bad idea to act immediately unless you are absolutely positive your efforts will not make things worse.