Is this a narrow minded view of the proposed Hubble Repair Mission?

Is this a narrow minded view of the proposed Hubble Repair Mission?

OK true story. I was actually at the Air and Space Museum in D.C. watching on a big screen projected TV back in the early 90's when the Hubble was repaired of it's original myopic condition. I met Burt Rutan who was signing autographs on hats outside the IMAX theater. I was in D.C. for a class and just happened to be there during the first Hubble rescue mission.

I believe without a doubt the Hubble has made some of the most amazing discoveries ever. It has made the human race closer to Space and the Cosmos more than anything since Neil Armstrong walked on the moon back in 1969.

Politically the Hubble is Huge. My questions is this.

Are we wasting money on Hubble to keep a political dream alive rather than actual Science? In other words, if it is true that new technology using adaptive optics from the ground can produce better science than Hubble what is the point in repairing it?

If we are going to risk lives and spend millions, why not UPGRADE Hubble for another 10 or 20 years to something we can't do from the ground yet?

Am I missing something here?


CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (AP) -- The fate of what some scientists dub "the people's telescope" is again up in the air as NASA decides soon whether to squeeze in a last astronaut repair mission to extend the life of the Hubble Space Telescope.

On Friday, NASA engineers will debate the safety of sending a fifth and final manned space shuttle flight to the 16-year-old telescope, probably in 2008. Soon afterward, NASA Administrator Michael Griffin will make the final call.

His decision could prolong Hubble's ability to capture some the most spectacular images of the universe well into the next decade or allow the telescope to deteriorate into oblivion by 2009 or 2010.

Griffin worked on Hubble earlier in his career and recently described it as "one of the great scientific instruments of all time." Unlike his predecessor, he has expressed a willingness to repair it.
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Relevant Pages

  • WHATS NEW Robert L. Park Friday, 28 Jan 05 Washington, DC
    ... WHERE DOES THE ADMINISTRATION GET ITS SCIENCE ADVICE? ... Hubble with astronauts is too dangerous, ... But why would anyone bother to repair the ISS? ... SHOULD WARNING MESSAGES BE REQUIRED ON BOOKS? ...
    (sci.astro.amateur)
  • WHATS NEW Robert L. Park Friday, 28 Jan 05 Washington, DC
    ... WHERE DOES THE ADMINISTRATION GET ITS SCIENCE ADVICE? ... Hubble with astronauts is too dangerous, ... But why would anyone bother to repair the ISS? ... SHOULD WARNING MESSAGES BE REQUIRED ON BOOKS? ...
    (sci.physics)
  • NASA says Hubble repair mission is a go
    ... NASA will send a space shuttle to repair the 16-year-old Hubble Space ... his predecessor's decision to nix the mission. ...
    (sci.space.shuttle)
  • What have we learned from Hubble about building telescopes?
    ... any scope for future repair and updating. ... Astronauts making one last house call to Hubble ... astronauts will rocket away to the most famous telescope of ...
    (sci.astro.amateur)
  • Re: Long Overdue - A space robot
    ... The rationale for manned space flight is often stated to be repair. ... Cheaper launch was the only way the large ... The idea that Hubble, which is a not-too-distant relative of the ... would have been mandatory to include at least one infrared instrument. ...
    (sci.space.policy)