Hubble weathers ups and downs

LarryM, Detroit, Mi — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 17:03:22 GMT

Whoooo Hoooo!! You go Hubble!

Hubble weathers ups and downs

Rob v. Somerset NJ — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 17:07:50 GMT

Alright!

Hubble weathers ups and downs

Gordon, Charleston SC — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 17:14:14 GMT

Alan, I wonder if there has been any cost analsys
of bringing Hubble back to Earth rebuilding it,
and returning it to space. I feel sure that many
improvements could be made on the ground that
could not be made in space, and probally cheaper.

Hubble weathers ups and downs

Jim Corry — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 17:52:53 GMT

Thank you for fixing Hubble.

Hubble weathers ups and downs

Toby — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 18:21:56 GMT

Gordon,

The problem is that returning Hubble to Earth requires two launches as opposed to just one. Even when Hubble had massive problems when it was first launched they decided it wasn't cost effective to bring it back to earth for repairs, and now we have a very limited number of shuttle launches left to do the things we want to get done.

I can only hope that some private company will take donations to bring Hubble back down to Earth for retirement in 10 years, as opposed to having it burn up in the atmosphere. If there was every a piece of 'space junk' that deserved a spot in the Smithsonian...

Hubble weathers ups and downs

John Caveman Green — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 18:41:40 GMT

Just like any other computer these days, it's cheaper, faster and better to buy new. Why relaunch an old piece of technology with limited resolution, questionable optics when you could field a new piece of technology with 20x better resolution and spot-on optics for half price? Let's just make sure the eye glass people grind to the right specs this time.

John Caveman Green
lancelotlinc AT yahoo DOT com
cavemanscrib DOT com

Hubble weathers ups and downs

Chris Burrows — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 18:59:47 GMT

Fingers crossed from one who worked on Hubble.

Hubble weathers ups and downs

Attica, Sydney — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 19:41:05 GMT

I am so happy

Hubble weathers ups and downs

Scott M. Santa Barbara, Calif. — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 19:46:32 GMT

Great news! Hubble is probably one of the best investments taxpayers have ever made in the space program.

Hubble weathers ups and downs

Rich, Niagara Falls — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 20:17:21 GMT

Can the shuttle bring such a big payload back to earth? To my recollection hasn't allways come back close to empty?

Hubble weathers ups and downs

Evan — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 20:31:22 GMT

Huge sigh of relief in Greenbelt...yeah for you guys, thank you & congratulations!

But when does Hubble expire? Is there a known date, or approximate date, after which Hubble fails?

I thought we were running out of time as it was...I certainly hope not, but I am curious.

Hubble weathers ups and downs

Rob E. — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 20:56:08 GMT

Toby,

It would be a heck of a lot cheaper to display a life-sized replica of the Hubble, sans interior elements, at the Smithsonian. Plus, after the shuttle is retired in 2010, someone would have to build a 2nd generation RLV with the cargo capacity of the shuttle in order to have the capability to bring Hubble back home.

Hubble weathers ups and downs

Tammy, Nashville, TN — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 22:34:09 GMT

I am so happy we are keeping Hubble up and going. It is a marvelous machine...and if we want to retire it (I like the Smithsonian idea), we need a Hubble 2 with all the capabilities our computing power now could bring to such an endeavor! Wonder how we get funding for that in times like these...

Hubble weathers ups and downs

dmac225 — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 22:53:09 GMT

Could the shuttle safely land with the weight of Hubble in it's cargo bay? It doesn't seem likely. But I am curious to know the answer.

Hubble weathers ups and downs

eddie — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 23:51:03 GMT

I do love a slow tedious voyage even if experienced only through the sense of sight and imagination. Long live the big eye in the sky!

Hubble weathers ups and downs

Bizbuilder Forest, VA — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 01:42:48 GMT

Is this Side A side B like a Right Brain, Left Brain type of thing. Will we start getting impressionist images from the Hubble instead of Analytical images now?

Hubble weathers ups and downs

Rocky, RI, Il. — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 03:23:38 GMT

It's time to get all the science from Hubble that is possible to receive! The cost of keeping it in operation is not the question. Penny counting for a trip to the moon is the question. Why go back to the moon in this economy, is the valid question. Fixing the Hubble is very concervative and rewarding, beyond dreams!

Hubble weathers ups and downs

William R. Cousert, California — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 04:02:12 GMT

Once NASA is finished with Hubble, would it be possible to boost it into a higher orbit so that it could be retrieved at a much later date?

Hubble weathers ups and downs

Judy Jester, Wilmington, De. — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 11:02:21 GMT

Hubble has contributed so much to our learnings about outerspace. It's marvelous! With all of the turmoil in the financial markets and the wars going on, Hubble is a shining star enlightening our knowledge and helping our future!

Hubble weathers ups and downs

weezerd, manchester, england — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 13:32:09 GMT

It seems amazing that it's taken 18 years til it was necessary to test the bac-up sysyem..."Better than your average IT engineer, boo-boo!"

Hubble weathers ups and downs

Eric, Salinas, CA — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 13:57:38 GMT

Hip Hip Hooray for Hubble! I'm sure glad that all the fine folks at NASA that worked to revive Hubble came through like champs. Now we can enjoy more of those wonderful pictures that Hubble has brought us for so many years. Now let's get that repair mission going.

Hubble weathers ups and downs

Hubblewife — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 14:18:31 GMT

Side B has issues - Thursday evening the problems problems problems.

Hubble weathers ups and downs

Henry, Wausau, WI — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 14:19:10 GMT

Quality of the equipment that Hubble is made of speaks volumes.

Hubble weathers ups and downs

mark, houton, tx — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 14:22:47 GMT

this is an attempt by nasa to influence the election. all the sudden the side a system decides to go down a few weeks before the launch which was a few weeks before the election? please! just kidding. i'm not that cynical. go hubble!

Hubble weathers ups and downs

Frank, Central Texas, Texas — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 15:44:24 GMT

Retrieval of the Hubble would depend on whether the Shuttle could land with that much weight on board. I seem to remember that it doesn't have that capacity.

Hubble weathers ups and downs

Darrell Messbarger — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 16:31:24 GMT

Is anyone unhappy with what we have been able to achieve with the Hubble telescope? Any further investment, in it, would take away from newer and larger systems.

The Smithsonian would be better served with a model and all of those glorious photos.

Hubble weathers ups and downs

I Doe know — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 16:42:24 GMT

It seems to be in the same shape as my car...

Hubble weathers ups and downs

OneVoice, Frederick MD — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 17:11:19 GMT

Congratulations to the designers and engineers that built Hubble and her backup systems. To the NASA community who have taken such good care of the scientific community's gift to the world over the years and to the engineers that diagnosed the problem and successfuly made the switch over so her good work can continue.

Now lets get that dern servicing mission back into the queue ASAP!

Hubble weathers ups and downs

Simon Farmer, Everett, Washington — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 18:20:42 GMT

The Hubble was a great telescope but its time has come. By continuing to fund Hubble NASA demonstrates that it's more interested in keeping engineers jobs than doing anything new. We are paying BILLIONS of dollars to fix a telescope when those same billions could be used to create new telescopes that were 10x to 100x stronger. Just look at projects like the Large Binocular Telescope in Arizona. At the cost of even one Hubble repair mission we could have 10 new ground based telescopes that utilize the newest advances in interferometry and other techniques.

WAKE UP NASA, and please use my tax dollars better.

Hubble weathers ups and downs

Eric, Salinas, CA — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 18:22:50 GMT

Thanks Alan for keeping us up to date with the Hubble trouble. Hopefully NASA will be able to get these new snafus fixed so that they can get Atlantis ready for the upcoming repair mission. Let's all hope that Hubble can be fixed so that we can enjoy those wonderful pictures it has provided us over the years.

Hubble weathers ups and downs

Art Valla, Kenmore, WA — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 18:24:06 GMT

I am certain that the risk to life posed by the current space shuttle is not worth retrieving a museum piece.

However, if one of our software billionaires wants a great conversation piece for their coffee table and is willing to finance an automated recovery launch, go for it!

Hubble weathers ups and downs

Larry Johnson, Groton, CT — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 18:55:12 GMT

Another potential problem with de-orbiting Hubble for repairs is it's age. Any complex machine wears with age. A machine that has experienced the extreme temperature and radiation conditions of earth orbit for the better part of 20 years is going to become fragile in ways that we cannot predict. Subjecting it to de-orbit and relaunch represents risk akin to replacing an unbroken part in a 20 year-old car with a new one. Best to leave well-enough alone.

That being said, perhaps a case could be made for returning it to Earth, intact, at the end of it's operational life. We would have an opportunity to study the long-term effects of orbital flight on the numerous materials used in it's construction. Afterward, it would of course be enshrined at the Smithsonian.

Hubble weathers ups and downs

Frank, Dallas, TX — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 19:03:10 GMT

If Hubble cannot be repaired, they should accelerate the schedule for getting the James Webb telescope up there. JW will go into a solar orbit, as opposed to Hubble which is in a high Earth orbit. This will allow it to "stare" at a single point in space for longer periods of time and gather much more information than the already-impressive Hubble could.

At the very least, whatever parts the Atlantis crew pulls off Hubble to be replaced during the upcoming repair mission should be kept. It will be a shame if the whole thing cannot be salvaged but since Hubble is in such a high orbit it will probably require a dedicated mission which means even more money. Maybe that could be a "Plan B" for the Atlantis mission - try to get it working while you're in orbit with it, but if not, just bring it on home. Then again, it weights 24000 pounds... it would seem that would make the landing dicey. However, considering that the shuttle was cleared to take off with that kind of load in the first place, and that resulting from certain kinds of emegencies during launch they'd have to attempt a landing with that load anyway, you'd think it would be feasible. If its good enough to fly its good enough to land.

Hubble weathers ups and downs

Frank Glover, Rochester, NY — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 17:39:51 GMT

"I can only hope that some private company will take donations to bring Hubble back down to Earth for retirement in 10 years, as opposed to having it burn up in the atmosphere. If there was every a piece of 'space junk' that deserved a spot in the Smithsonian..."

Unfortunately, none of the private companies that are working on orbital (as opposed to suborbital) systems seem to have anything planned in the next 10 years or so, that would be able to return anything like the size and mass of the HST to Earth.

In this particular application, Dragon (or Shenzhou) would be no more useful than Orion. Many people don't yet realize how much they're going to miss the shuttle's downmass capability. Even returning spacesuits from ISS for refurbishment will become an issue...

Hubble weathers ups and downs

joelne brown — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 08:47:59 GMT

I would hope that before we think of bringing back the Hubble to sit in a museum,when we have no other way of learning where the black holes go.That we could send this incredible machine on this journey,one step forward for man kind.That there is no end.Just new beginnings.Send her. Jolene, Arizona

Hubble weathers ups and downs

Alex, Sacramento, CA — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 19:31:50 GMT

I would love to see the Hubble come back. Sure we could put a model in a museum. We can put a lot of fake stuff in a lot of places to represent things we really cared about. But it just isn't the same. While they are up there, they might want to pick up Vanguard, also. It's the oldest surviving satellite. Launched 50 years ago, and still up there. But then they have another 300 years or so to make a decision on that one.