Re: Bush cancels Hubble telescope rescue mission

From: gregg (saville_at_comcast.net)
Date: 01/26/05 

Date: Wed, 26 Jan 2005 11:53:30 -0500

Eric Chomko wrote:

> : I don't see anyone disputing that there's risk in this mission or in
> : Space
> : travel in general.
>
> : But some of the questions are:
>
> : Is the risk limited to the Shuttle and it's crew, and the HST?
>
> No, there is always risk when dealing with spaceflight.

 But the question was: is the risk limited to the Shuttle, the crew, and
HST? What other risks, including programmatic, and political, are there?
>
> : Is the risk worth the gain? the possible losses?
>
> Generally, yes, but we must always strive for better safety.

 Well that's your opinion. But there are risks over and above crew safety.

>These same
> issues came up after the Challenger disaster and yet we seemed less timid
> back then.

 Seems sensible to me, that we be a little more timid - at least with regard
to using the shuttle. We were less timid because we only lost one.

We lost another one. More timidity with regard to the shuttle doesn't seem
out of place to me.

> : Question:
>
> : What is the status of the NExt Generation Space Telescope?
>
> Check the JWST website for status. I believe that it is still a few years
> away.

It was a rhetorical question.

Hubble is a great machine but, in my opinion, I'd rather spend the $$
building a replacement. 

-- 
Saville
Replicas of 15th-19th century nautical navigational instruments: 
           http://home.comcast.net/~saville/backstaffhome.html
Restoration of my 82 year old Herreshoff S-Boat sailboat:
           http://home.comcast.net/~saville/SBOATrestore.htm
Steambending FAQ with photos:
           http://home.comcast.net/~saville/Steambend.htm

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