| Subject: Don't let the Hubble diea premature death |
Author:
Betty
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Date Posted: 10:32:50 04/14/04 Wed
In reply to:
Betty
's message, "Hubbble telescope to die & be destoyed" on 12:26:05 02/15/04 Sun
America's space program has not been known for timidity -- until now.
In the wake of the Columbia space shuttle disaster last year, which has left NASA officials gun-shy and intent on putting astronaut safety above all other concerns, it is likely that the final mission to service the Hubble telescope, scheduled for 2006, will be scrubbed.
That means the orbiting Hubble, which has astonished astronomers with its ability to seemingly peer into the universe's misty past, will probably be in operation only until 2007 or 2008. If the final service mission goes as scheduled, the Hubble telescope is expected to stay at work until 2011 or 2012. By then, the Hubble's powerful replacement, the James Webb Space Telescope, should be in commission.
Astronauts who have risked their lives to make and keep the Hubble operational -- and in all space missions astronauts' lives are at risk -- are understandably upset at the idea of suspending the last mission and allowing the Hubble to die a premature death.
They above all others understand that great gains in science often come at great risk -- or in the case of the Columbia crew in 2003 or the Challenger crew in 1986, tremendous loss and tragedy.
But the mindset of the space agency has changed over the years. Once dominated by those with a fighter-pilot, adrenaline-craving mentality, NASA is evolving into an organization trying to minimize both risk and cost.
We're not advocating for NASA to haphazardly fling human beings into space with no regard for their safety for the sake of eking an extra four years of life out of the Hubble.
But it would be wasteful to summarily scrap the final mission as a knee-jerk reaction to the Columbia disaster. The last mission, the fifth to service the telescope, would equip it with two instruments that have already been built, at a cost of $176 million.
We agree with those who have already risked their lives to make it possible for humans to peer into the far edges of the universe. Keep the Hubble alive for as long as possible.
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