NASA's chief agreed Thursday to review his decision to cancel the Hubble Space Telescope's final servicing mission and let it deteriorate and go out of operation. The decision comes after the space agency was bombarded by pleas to save the craft.
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Without the servicing mission, which had been planned for 2006, the orbiting telescope is expected to stop working several years before its scheduled 2010 retirement.
The verdict seems final: NASA says it is just too risky for shuttle astronauts to fix the Hubble Space Telescope, which means an early death for the world's premier astronomical eye in the sky. But two reports by NASA engineers maintain it is no riskier to service the orbiting telescope than to use shuttle astronauts to finish building the International Space Station, which will require some 25 shuttle flights
The Hubble Space Telescope, often referred to as HST, is a space telescope launched into orbit in 1990 by NASA. It is named after astronomer Edwin Hubble and is one of the largest and most versatile telescopes in operation.
The "O'Keefe forced to reconsider" incident refers to the controversy surrounding the Hubble Space Telescope in the 1990s. In 1993, astronomer John O'Keefe published a paper claiming that the telescope's primary mirror was flawed, leading to blurry images. This caused NASA to reassess and ultimately repair the telescope.
The Hubble Space Telescope has made numerous groundbreaking discoveries since its launch. Some notable ones include determining the age of the universe, identifying dark matter, and capturing images of galaxies and nebulae in incredible detail.
The Hubble Space Telescope works by using a series of mirrors and lenses to collect and focus light from distant objects in space. The telescope then captures this light using its sensitive instruments and transmits the data back to Earth, where it is analyzed by scientists.
The Hubble Space Telescope is expected to continue operating until 2030. However, it will eventually be replaced by the James Webb Space Telescope, which is scheduled to launch in 2021. The James Webb Telescope will have advanced technology that will allow it to observe even further into space and make new discoveries.