26 Jan 2005 -- The fate of 14-year-old Hubble telescope, which showed us clear views of distant galaxies, is fuzzy, distorted and blurred. There are rumors floating around which say that the optical observatory will be scrapped and splashed into the ocean. An unnamed source from US administration has leaked-out that the budget to be released on the 7th February 2005 does not include funding for much needed Hubble’s repair.
NASA’s officials have not confirmed the report and have said that it would be inappropriate to comment on the budget before it is released.
Bruce Margon, associate director for science at the Space Telescope Science Institute, the agency that manages Hubble observations, says that there is a good chance that the news of Hubble being scrapped is false. Margon said that specific things like Hubble’s repair are not listed in agency’s budget. NASA allots the money for such missions only after they get their budget approved by the congress. Margon said that NASA has already allocated $300 million for an agency working on robotic servicing mission in the 2005 budget.
"If they have already decided they are not going to touch Hubble, why aren't they sending stop-work orders to those contractors? That just doesn't seem to be a responsible way to spend $300 million," says Margon.
Hubble telescope needs its batteries and gyroscopes to be replaced immediately. If the replacements are not provided till the end of 2005, then Hubble will not be able to work beyond 2007. The repairs would let the telescope send fantastic images to earth till 2011. Considering the type of work that was done using the Hubble telescopes and the contribution that Hubble can make to the scientific knowledge in next six years, it will be expensive to scrap the telescope.
The repair will require at least $1 billion. Hubble’s repair has been a controversial subject ever since NASA’s chief, Sean O'Keefe, scrapped the shuttle repair mission after the Columbia shuttle disaster. However, campaigns led by the public and astronauts demanding a repair mission prompted O'Keefe to reconsider upgrading the telescope. He thought of conducting a robotic mission to rescue the telescope instead of risking astronauts for it.
Unfortunately for the Hubble telescope (and for its supporters) a study performed by a special blue ribbon panel of the U.S. National Research Council recommended NASA to drop the idea of fixing the telescope using robots. The panel said that robots will not be able to carry the task successfully and a manned mission is the only option left.
On the other side there are experts who say that the very design concept of the Hubble telescope is flawed. Building cheap disposable telescopes is a better option than building ones like Hubble, which require regular maintenance missions. Hubble has gone through four repairs and upgrade missions till now. The telescope which is now in need of $one billion to repair itself originally cost $1.5 billion.
