posted 06-01-2004 05:42 PM            

Susan Hendrix
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
(Phone: 301/286-7745)

RELEASE: 04-173

NASA CONSIDERING ROBOTIC SERVICING MISSION TO HUBBLE

NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe today announced the
agency's decision to pursue the feasibility of a robotic
servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). NASA
initiated the first step toward enabling such a mission with
the release of a Request for Proposals today. The due date
for proposal submissions is July 16, 2004.

"This is the first step in a long process of developing the
best options to save Hubble," Administrator O'Keefe said. "We
are on a tight schedule to assure a Hubble servicing mission
toward the end of calendar year 2007. But we must act
promptly to fully explore this approach."

Although the primary goal of a robotic mission is to install
a deorbit module on the HST, NASA is studying the feasibility
of performing other tasks. The tasks could include installing
new batteries, gyros and possibly science instruments that
would enhance the observatory's ability to peer even more
deeply into the universe. The final decision about specific
robotic tasks will be made after all proposals have been
thoroughly reviewed.

For HST images and information on the Internet, visit:
http://hubblesite.org

For information about NASA and agency programs on the
Internet, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov

-end-

---------------------------

Jacques :-)
www.spacepatches.info

posted 06-02-2004 02:15 PM            

Willing to send astronauts to the Moon and Mars (on somewhat hazardous missions) but not willing fly the shuttle to Hubble at least one more time ?

I don't want to see astronauts lives in danger any more than NASA or I would my own but spaceflight will always be fairly dangerous (- at least with today's technologies)

To fly the 'extra' distance to Hubble is - in my book - no worse than flying to the ISS and docking. And, if really worried about an 'escape route' - why not take a Soyuz inside STS bay to Hubble ? Or , if to weighty - another propulsion unit for retro to get you to upper atmosphere heights for typical entry sequence? Its just gotta be cheaper and more achievable than plumbing the depths of robotics at this late stage in the game.

But,better,just fly to the Hubble with STS as normal. I'm sure one or more crew would be willing take this 'risk' - just as they have before ?

If they can get a pilot I'll come along as the payload specialist or mission specialist.

posted 06-03-2004 01:46 AM            

Sigh.

My eyes are turned entirely to Mojave. Let these guys prove a market for commercial suborbital flights, orbital flights will follow in 15 or so years. Then -- and only then -- will space flight get cheap. And then we can stop extruding the entire human exodus into space through a brain-dead Congress and a risk-paralyzed space agency.