NASA Decides to Save Hubble Telescope

Christmas came early for those who believe that America's space program should be about real science rather than Buck Rogers fantasies. NASA chief Mike Griffin announced yesterday that astronauts will go to service the Hubble Space Telescope after all. The Hubble's batteries and gyroscopes are running down and need replacing. The stupidity here is that there was ever any doubt that this mission was necessary.

Regrettably, NASA under this administration has been moved away from its useful scientific mission toward an ugly mix of crytpo-military duties and public relations relying on astronauts. The latter is expensive and of minimal value to the country, while the former is pure research that only governments do well. As a result, focus has gone to the International Space Station, where no science of any importance has occurred, and the space shuttle (when it flies) is dedicated to supplying and building the ISS. Hubble was going to be brought down for a controlled destruction in Earth's atmosphere because there was not any room in the calendar for another shuttle flight to save it with basic maintenance.

Mr. Griffin said at the Godard Space Flight Center yesterday that modifications made to the shuttle make it safe to send to Hubble. Apparently, the shuttle didn't have enough fuel to get to the ISS from Hubble in the event of tile damage that killed the astronauts on Columbia. Now, it does. Although, an honest solution would fix the tile problem.

If he insists on the fig leaf, this journal has no problem in letting him retain it. However, those wise in the ways of the politics of science know that real scientists around the world gave NASA an earful on the need to keep Hubble until its successor, the James Webb Telescope, starts orbiting Earth in 2013. Yielding to experts (a rarity in this administration), Mr. Griffin has done the right thing by taxpayers and the scientific community.

In addition, he has helped evolve this journal's view of the role of man in space. Astronauts do have a purpose after all. They are useful in maintaining the equipment that does the data collection. While Martian landers are too far away to go fix, there's absolutely nothing wrong with sendinog a repair and maintenance crew up for a week or two to ensure that the Hubble and the rest of mankind's space capital equipment in Earth orbit is properly kept. There may not be as much glamour in being the repairman than a fearless space explorer, but at least, it's a real job that needs doing.

© Copyright 2006 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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