NASA Debates How And When To Kill Hubble Telescope

Amy's Robot writes "The Washington Post reports that after 13 years of wear and tear, the Hubble telescope may be on the way out. NASA and some outside scientists have become involved in a heated debate about how and when to end the Hubble telescope program. Keeping Hubble in service until 2020 would require an extra maintenance visit by astronauts at a cost of at least $600 million. Some even worry the batteries could fail by 2010, since the next maintenance visit has been delayed by the Columbia accident and space station priorities. Is it worth maintaining our old friend Hubble, or should NASA let him go out in a blaze of glory?"

Comments

How And When To Kill Hubble

[Wireless Joe]

I propose in the conservatory with the candlestick.

Oh...and when? Just after he's changed his will to leave everything to Anna Nicole Smith and his Shitsu.

Re: Hubble Slide Show

[Mad Man]

Re:Hubble Slide Show

Great slide show, but can someone please slow it down, I'm about to hurl.

Once it is loaded, save the web page (from the top menu, select FILE --> Save as, or however it is done with your web browser).

Be sure to save it as a "Complete Web Page", not "HTML Only"

A 3.3 MB file called "030811-hubble.swf" will be saved to your computer (along with some other files than you can discard).

Use your web browser to open "030811-hubble.swf".

Or, instead of the web browser, use QuickTime to open it, since it has the forward and reverse controls.

Re:Cold Storage Option

[TubeSteak]

there's a big incinerator in the sky. we like to call it the sun. easy way to get rid of big problems. the reason we have lots of crap floating around is because in the early days the US and Russia used lots and lots of exploding bolts and oddles of other little pieces designed to be shed in orbit, or during the deorbit burn. oops! now we know better, but its too late to fix the mess that's already been made.