- Joined
- Nov 18, 2004
- Messages
- 23,992
- Reaction score
- 4,014
- Points
- 113
- Age
- 69
- My Satellite Setup
- Has gone to a good home elsewhere
- My Location
- Blackburn, Lancashire
- NASA said on Tuesday it would extend the life of the Hubble Space Telescope until at least 2013 in a decision that involves a potentially risky space shuttle mission.
A space shuttle will make one final maintenance trip, tentatively in 2008, to the orbiting telescope even though astronauts will not be able to take shelter on the International Space Station if something
goes wrong, NASA Administrator Michael Griffin told cheering scientists at the Goddard Space Flight Centre outside Washington.
"The desire to preserve a truly international asset like the Hubble Space Telescope makes doing this mission the right course of action," Griffin said.
Hubble is considered by some scientists to be the most important astronomical instrument ever, capturing images of star birth and death, detecting planets outside our solar system and snapping eye-catching visions of the Milky Way and other galaxies. It has also examined the atmosphere of an extrasolar planet and helped determine the age of the universe.
Scientists say the 16-year-old orbital observatory would function for only two or three more years without repairs.
The U.S. space agency had planned a fifth servicing call to the telescope to install two new science instruments and to replace spent batteries and faulty steering gyroscopes.
But NASA cancelled the trip after the shuttle Columbia was destroyed and its seven crew members killed shortly before landing in 2003.
Safety upgrades put in place since then call for shuttle astronauts to stay aboard the International Space Station if they find their shuttle has been damaged. Crews heading to Hubble's orbit, however, cannot reach the station.
Griffin said a second shuttle would be ready to launch if a Hubble repair crew runs into trouble. There are no guarantees a rescue mission would work, however.
"We all as a nation know now that flying the shuttle carries more risk than we would like," Griffin said.
Cancellation of the Hubble servicing drew harsh public criticism and NASA later vowed to reconsider its decision.
The shuttle fleet will be retired in 2010 and NASA needs at least 14 more flights to finish building the $100 billion space station, a project of the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan and Canada.
GREENBELT, Maryland (Reuters) Tuesday October 31, 05:00 PM
A space shuttle will make one final maintenance trip, tentatively in 2008, to the orbiting telescope even though astronauts will not be able to take shelter on the International Space Station if something
goes wrong, NASA Administrator Michael Griffin told cheering scientists at the Goddard Space Flight Centre outside Washington.
"The desire to preserve a truly international asset like the Hubble Space Telescope makes doing this mission the right course of action," Griffin said.
Hubble is considered by some scientists to be the most important astronomical instrument ever, capturing images of star birth and death, detecting planets outside our solar system and snapping eye-catching visions of the Milky Way and other galaxies. It has also examined the atmosphere of an extrasolar planet and helped determine the age of the universe.
Scientists say the 16-year-old orbital observatory would function for only two or three more years without repairs.
The U.S. space agency had planned a fifth servicing call to the telescope to install two new science instruments and to replace spent batteries and faulty steering gyroscopes.
But NASA cancelled the trip after the shuttle Columbia was destroyed and its seven crew members killed shortly before landing in 2003.
Safety upgrades put in place since then call for shuttle astronauts to stay aboard the International Space Station if they find their shuttle has been damaged. Crews heading to Hubble's orbit, however, cannot reach the station.
Griffin said a second shuttle would be ready to launch if a Hubble repair crew runs into trouble. There are no guarantees a rescue mission would work, however.
"We all as a nation know now that flying the shuttle carries more risk than we would like," Griffin said.
Cancellation of the Hubble servicing drew harsh public criticism and NASA later vowed to reconsider its decision.
The shuttle fleet will be retired in 2010 and NASA needs at least 14 more flights to finish building the $100 billion space station, a project of the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan and Canada.
GREENBELT, Maryland (Reuters) Tuesday October 31, 05:00 PM