Here's the Associated Press story about the NASA decision to let the Hubble Space Telescope die, and here's the UPI story. Why was this decision taken? Well...
UPI version: "According to an internal NASA memo obtained by UPI, O'Keefe's decision was made for safety reasons and not budgetary concerns. Nor was the new space initiative, announced on Jan. 14 by President George W. Bush, a factor in the decision." (My emphasis)
AP version: "He [John Grunfeld, NASA chief scientist] said the decision was influenced by President Bush's new space initiative, which calls for NASA to start developing the spacecraft and equipment for voyages to the moon and later to Mars." (My emphasis)
Now, far be it from me to note that UPI is owned by the publisher of the extremely conservative Washington Times, a staunch fan of the Bush Administration, but...
Either way, it's a sad day for astronomers. The Hubble has provided a tool to understand the universe far better than anything we ever had before it went into service.
Posted by Linkmeister at January 16, 2004 04:20 PMUnfortunately the demise of Hubble was pre-ordained, but has now been accelerated and regardless of what the spin happens to be I feel that decision is directly related to the latest Bush initiative for lunar and Mars exploration. Hubble has performed magnificently, as have the other space telescopes, and astronomers should be eagerly awaiting the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope. 2012? I don't remember the exact launch date--I'll have to look it up.
I work at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Al. and I am extremely skeptical about the latest plans for space travel. I totally agree that we need a bold new initiative, but I see the latest as nothing more than political pandering in an election year which will ultimately do nothing more than harm the goals of our space program. Hubble is just the first program to be killed, but there will be further important Earth Sciences programs which will be eliminated, and the entire world will suffer from our losing this research.
The militarization of space as a topic of concern!
I am very open about my opposition to any military use of the space frontier by any country, but the signs are ominous! Perhaps I am being a bit paranoid, but there have been numerous appointments within NASA in the past few months of retired military personnel to key positions. I'm watching this trend closely hoping to get a feel for just what is happening, but so far all I have is a feeling of trepidation!
Washington Times... like in Sun Myung Moon???
Posted by: -=e=- at January 17, 2004 11:57 AMI was there when they launched the Hubble. Sorry to see the end of it's era.
Posted by: cassie-b at January 17, 2004 12:22 PMGot it in one, =e=.
Cassie, I've got the space bug, and I'm afraid this is just the start of cutbacks.
Posted by: Linkmeister at January 17, 2004 12:35 PM