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Space Tug to Save the Hubble?
Aglassis writes "In an article at SpaceRef, the CTO of Orbital Recovery Corporation claims that his company will be able to develop a space tug that could save the Hubble Space Telescope (from becoming 'a ballisticly implanted reef in the Pacific') by either moving it into a much higher stable orbit, or by moving it to the ISS where it could be maintained and operated. Some of the reasons that he cites are that the Hubble's replacement, the James Webb Space Telescope, could be delayed or suffer some sort of failure. Since the JWST will be at the L2 point, servicing will be impossible."
The article is very out dated, but the point remains valid. It is worth saving the Hubble for science work ...
As it stands, the new Bush space initiative will lead to Hubble's loss before any replacement is in place. Who knows if the Webb 'scope will fly on schedule (not very likely really is it?).
Second, American capacity for manned space flight will be lost for some years before its replacement flies. Who knows if the new "space exploration vehicle" will fly on time (not very likely is it really).
The american space progral is likely to just fade away under the budget pressure of war/feed-the-rich expenditures.
Face it, the next American on the moon, will have to go through Chinese passport control.
Sad in a way.
"Let me get this straight. They are going to abandon a working spacecraft, that continues to revolutionize deep space imaging, on the whim of a politician spewing typical election year rhetoric?
And you heard this... Where again? Stop pulling opinions out of your ass and passing them off as facts, Top Gun.
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