HST to be abandoned!!

Jeez, that came out of the blue! Only recently they were talking about 2010. If they are going to go to the ISS to finish it off, they might as well fix Hubble.

Michael,

NASA will use a robotic mission to finish it off, not the ISS.

Gordon

I wondered is the planned replacement for the HST still going ahead?
I read somewhere that NASA had already decided on taking HST out of service before the replacement was in place. But can the replacement be delivered and serviced without the Shuttle?Conor

Conor,

As Debra Elmegreen said, the JWST (James Webb Space Telescope) is going ahead so at least that is something to look forward to, although it's a long time to its launch in 2011.

Gordon

Devastating...

Anyone know how long the HST can operate without a service?

I presume that fuel to keep it at the right attitude is the problem and how much of that is left?

Anyone know how long the HST can operate without a service?
I presume that fuel to keep it at the right attitude is the problem and how much of that is left?

There is also the problem of the ever failing gyroscopes. If they permanently break, then you have no tracking on the HST, and its not the best instrument for taking pictures of star trails...

This is only the final descision though, the plans to decommision the HST have been underway for a long time, so I dont think we can blame Bush for this.

Cheers,
~Al

As Debra Elmegreen said, the JWST (James Webb Space Telescope) is going ahead so at least that is something to look forward to, although it's a long time to its launch in 2011.

Gordon

Thats goooood news! I'll bet it will be worth the wait.

Conor

I wouldn't call it a bolt out of the blue. The Hubble has been in jeopardy since Columbia.

It is will be a very sad day when the HST goes the way of Mirr and ends its life as a giant firecracker over the Pacific but at least the JWST is still going ahead.

The question now is how long can Hubble last and how much of a gap will there be between the end of the HST and first light of the JWST. That is not a gap I will be looking forward to

Bart B.