Photo Credit: NASA
The fate of the Hubble Space Telescope hangs in the balance this week. This amazing space observatory requires maintenance and the only way to do it is to send astrononauts up once again to replace worn out gyros, batteries and upgrade other hardware.
A few years ago this would not have been a problem for NASA but the unfortunate destruction of the Space Shuttle Columbia called into question the feasability of a repair and maintenance mission. Current NASA rules require Space Shuttle missions to have a back-up plan should there be an emergency on the Space Shuttle. For most missions, this means using the International Space Station as a lifeboat. Unfortunately, the Hubble is in a much higher orbit. The Space Shuttle cannot use the ISS in this case. One alternative is to have another shuttle on the pad, ready for launch if touble arises.
Tomorrow, NASA releases its final decision on the issue. It should be noted that planning and training for the repair mission is already underway so it's a good bet that the mission is on. Regardless, those of us who treasure the Hubble's work to date will be relieved to hear that NASA still has the rocks to do the job. The HST is argueably the most successful space science mission of it's kind in our lifetime and deserves to keep on exploring.
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