NASA Prepares for Possible Shuttle Mission to Save Hubble

Published: May 01, 2005
Source: www.space.com



NASA's new Administrator Mike Griffin told reporters today that he informed key members of Congress Thursday evening that he would direct engineers at Goddard Spaceflight center to start preparing for a space shuttle servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope on the assumption that one ultimately will go forward.

Griffin's predecessor, Sean O'Keefe, cancelled a planned Hubble mission in January 2004. O'Keefe cited safety concerns in the wake of the shuttle Columbia disaster.

Astronomers, politicians and the public have been up in arms about the cancellation ever since. A review board of experts assembled by O'Keefe recommended a shuttle mission to Hubble be reconsidered, but O'Keefe never budged. He was, however, persuaded to consider a robotic mission to service the telescope, which if it does not get new batteries and gyroscopes will cease to function in the next two to three years.

There is no replacement for Hubble's visible-light acuity even in the serious planning stages.continue..