Posted on: Saturday, February 12, 2005

EDITORIAL
NASA too quick to scrap Hubble mission

The signs are pointing to a slow and agonizing death for the widely loved Hubble Space Telescope.

Rather than attempt a life-prolonging repair mission performed by robots, NASA will de-orbit the most important astronomical probe since Galileo's exploration of the heavens. It is expected to disintegrate in two or three years.

Other priorities, including President Bush's desire for missions to the moon and Mars, have put Hubble on the budget chopping block.

The 15-year-old telescope had become more powerful with each upgrade, and it's premature to put an end to its potential.

NASA is concerned about the risk of repair missions manned by astronauts, particularly in the wake of the 2003 Columbia space shuttle disaster. However, the robot mission could have broken new ground in space station repairs. To the dismay of even those most skeptical about the feasibility of the endeavor, money to save the Hubble was not included in NASA's 2006 budget request.

A National Academy of Sciences panel concluded that using a robot would be uncertain and take too long. But several federal government sources told The Washington Post that the $1 billion to $2 billion price tag on the robotic mission was the real reason for scrapping the plans.

The Hubble is the most powerful optical observatory ever built and we've yet to reap all of its benefits. Unfortunately, it now appears we never will.