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NASA Gives OK to Fix Hubble Telescope
Erick writes "NASA has decided to rescue the Hubble. This will come as great news to all of those who have advocated for fixing the ailing 'scopes sensors, gyros, etc. The article states that nine to 12 months of planning will precede a mission to the Hubble Telescope."
Make it a reality series! I know I'd watch them prepare and fix it.
I'm sure that at $1-$1.6 billion to repair the Hubble, many who are not directly affected by the Hubble's latest problems will wonder why we're throwing so much money into something that, to them, is just a big, expensive camera. Personally, I'd like to know what kind of research money we're losing because the Hubble isn't working properly.
I also fail to see how Mr. O'Keefe, who heads NASA, can postpone shuttle missions citing danger to the astronauts' lives. If it seems imminent that another disaster will occur on the next flight, I would understand, but surely we've found ways to resolve the latest problems. Astronauts don't go into the business of space flight thinking they'll have "safe" jobs, and I would think that as long as they're ready to fly again, the administration would be eager to get them back in space.
Live free or die
Google's IPO is actually so they can BUY Hubble from the United States. This will allow them to index the entire UNIVERSE! Imagine being able to search Space!
Oh, and they'll be renaming Hubble to Huugle.
Nevermind the fact that the entire space industry puts AMERICANS to work. So when people have money (from working and not being on unemployment) they can buy items thus boosting the economy back up...oh wait never mind money down the drain Mod me down if you like, I don't care anymore.
I'm glad that Hubble will be repaired but I fail to comprehend why it has to be by robots. It's in near Earth orbit! If we can't send humans to near Earth orbit then we have no business sending them to, say, Mars.
Even Discovery Channel perpetuates the same error.
James Webb can't replace the Hubble. They see at different wavelengths. Webb can't even be reached once launched, let alone be repaired.
I know people here at /. know these things, but to see even so-called science channels misleading the public is disheartening.
Nasa will send plenty of missions to continue constructing the ISS. But, how much scientific information do we gain from the ISS? As I understand it, most of the work currently done on the ISS is maintaining the ISS.
The Hubble on the other hand has a proven track record of sending back fascinating images that have advanced the astro-sciences.
There are no plans to replace Hubble with a space based telescope that takes images in the visible wave lengths.
So, where are we sending astronauts?
Where law ends, tyranny begins -- William Pitt
Hi, this is reality and our union would like a word or two.
.. science again.
Although you may believe that the hot air given off by all the politians in the world is enough to sustain a steady orbit and rotation of our planet it is in fact gravity and momentum which does this, which are scientific principals.
While valuble in avaiation hot air does not fund research or industry that is economics which is just a fancy branch of mathematics which is
Have a nice day
In related news, a Russian Soyuz rocket was prepared for the Hubble repair mission. In an effort to cuts costs on the project as much as possible, NASA officials are using the Russian-made space vehicle to facilitate the mission.
Additionally, NASA will supply the two astronauts assigned the project a bottle of Windex and a roll of Bounty paper towels to clean the Hubble optics. If the budget permits, a Philips head screwdriver and one of those fancy Sears/Craftsman "GRIP" wrenches will also be thrown in to the duffle bag the astronauts are carrying with them for the flight.
IronChefMorimoto
This is amazing news to hear considering the current political atmosphere of the country. George W. Bush may want to gain favor with the scientific community quickly in order to get some more support for his reelection. Since the project will take 3 years George W. could scrap it after the election to go for more ambitious and prestigious plan that will bolster up his presidency. So, if George W. Bush gets reelected, I think there is a chance that this project gets scrapped. Now if Kerry gets elected, there may be a ?weeding? of all things Bush and it may get scrapped that way too. So, given our current political atmosphere, I do not think that the fixing of the Hubble is a sure thing
Nuttles
Christian and proud of it
The Superconducting Super Collider was canned for political reasons. The congress wanted to crack down on something for budget reasons, and there were 2 big targets: the International Space Station or the SSC. Remeber how each of these projects are a tiny amount of the goverments budgets. They needed to make an example out of one of them to "show" that they were serious about the budget. They cracked on the SSC because it was less "interesting" to the public, even though it was more important scientifically. They were going to look, among other things, for the Higgs Boson. It would have attracted thousands of scientists from around the world.
Then the same politicians crippled the Space Station by putting it in an orbit that would let them cooperate with Russia, but made it useless for its original purpose. They broke the Space Station for a public show of how happy things are politically with Russia.
I disagree, we haven't had years of smart people selling super-colliders.
Basic science is hard to grasp for the general public. What is its application? Who knows? But, the point is that to build new technologies, a good strating point is to understand nature a bit better. Don't forget the basic science, without it the rest wont work itself out.
"There is no teacher but the enemy."-Mazer Rackham