NASA Personnel Join Chorus to Save (Hubble) Space Telescope

[pmbryant]

From ABC News: Feb 9 2004

Internal Pleas
NASA Personnel Join Chorus to Save Space Telescope
By Gina Treadgold
ABCNEWS.com

Feb. 9— There is a growing movement among engineers at NASA to overturn the decision to cancel the shuttle mission to extend the life of the Hubble telescope.


ABCNEWS has obtained reports written by engineers at the Johnson Space Center disputing the decision to abandon Hubble because of safety concerns. The reports are part of a larger document written by engineers who decline to be identified for fear of retribution. Hubble is one of the four great space observatories orbiting Earth with the mission to explore the origins of the universe.

The decision to cancel SM4 — the shuttle mission to upgrade Hubble — was announced last month by NASA administrator Sean O'Keefe, who cited safety concerns raised by the Columbia Accident Investigation Board.

At issue is a recommendation that NASA develop a way to inspect and repair the shuttle's thermal protection system — it was a failure of the thermal protection system which doomed the crew of Columbia on its return from space last year.

This system is needed because if the shuttle cannot make it to the "safe haven" of the International Space Station, then astronauts will have to learn to repair the shuttle while in orbit.

However, the report being circulated among congressional circles concludes: "The final planned HST (Hubble Space Telescope) will be at least as safe as shuttle flights to the International Space Station (ISS). If shuttle return-to-flight occurs prior to the full implementation of an autonomous inspection and repair capability, the overall risks during a flight to Hubble would be comparable to those associated with an ISS flight which the shuttle failed to reach ISS. Ultimately, when an autonomous inspection and repair capability is implemented, a mission to Hubble will then be as safe as any mission to the ISS."

(snip)

http://abcnews.go.com/sections/SciTech/US/hubble_controversey_040209.html

[Dudley_DUright]

1. Since Sean O'Keefe has no technical training or degrees,

you would think he might check with scientists and engineers before he made such a bonehead decision. There is a serious uproar over this in astronomy circles. I hope reason wins out over fear.