Comments on: Major Failure On the Hubble Space Telescope; Repair Mission Options Being Weighed

By: http://rich-niche.info/cookie/img/smilies/happy.gif

http://rich-niche.info/cookie/img/smilies/happy.gif — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 00:12:57 +0000

nice! [IMG]http://rich-niche.info/cookie/img/smilies/happy.gif[/IMG]

By: Sakib

Sakib — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 16:37:04 +0000

NASA is planning and developing a next gen space telescope, the James Webb Space Telescope that will launch in 2013. It has multiple mirrors that will form one large mirror that is equivalent to 13m (I think!). It will be more distant than the HST so servicing missions might not be possible. I actually do hope HST does get repaired cos it could discover new things that the JWST could see more clearly.

By: btw

btw — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 16:37:13 +0000

Face it, the Hubble is old and frail, all of it. We already have the instruments and a second main mirror (properly ground) sits unused in storage.

Rather than gamble that the Hubble's old parts will continue to function, I think they should build a Hubble II. It will be a little more expensive, but you would have a fresh new telescope with state of the art components and more capabilities than the first Hubble ever had.

Launch it into a higher orbit (which should require less mechanical movements during its lifetime) on an expendable rocket and, barring some disaster, you would know you had a new instrument with at least ten years of service guaranteed.

Trying to revive the old Hubble could be a complete loss, regardless of how well the repairs were made. Something else could crap out a week after the final servicing.

By: milad jalali

milad jalali — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 16:15:54 +0000

i hope that hubble work for evere

By: RapidEye

RapidEye — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 13:37:32 +0000

Agreed Astrofriend – I see this as actually lucky timing!

By: Astrofiend

Astrofiend — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 00:31:48 +0000

Well, we can only thank our lucky stars that this happened prior to the service mission. It would have been a DISASTER if it went down after the mission, and the B-side wouldn't come up! It doesn't bear thinking about…

By: james

james — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 21:40:45 +0000

What a day of disasters for the US. And however is lucky? enough to become President will have to explain to the American public (in two years), why we spent ~180 billion US$ on ISS and then handed the keys to the Russians….

By: Don Alexander

Don Alexander — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 20:20:16 +0000

Well, it's official, the HST mission is delayed until at least February 2009.

Oh, and the Dow Jones crashed too.

By: Tom

Tom — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 20:14:30 +0000

This sucks! But the good thing is that it failed BEFORE they went up there for the final visit.
But then again….they'll have to drag out another shuttle as a rescue ship, wait until next year, screw up the schedule, more – but that would happen anyway!

Tom