October 30, 2006 5:27

They're Saving the Hubble!

Two years ago, in the aftermath of the Columbia disaster, NASA officials decided to cancel a planned servicing mission for the Hubble Space Telescope. The idea had been to replace the space telescope's aging gyroscopes and to upgrade some of its instruments, prolonging the amazing orbiting eye's lifespan to 2011 at least, and making a telescope that's been stunning the world with dazzling images since the early 1990s even more powerful. But astronaut safety was suddenly in question, and completion of the scientifically useless but politically important International Space Station a priority. Canceling the repair mission would free up one shuttle shot, and because the Hubble is in a completely different orbit from the station, it would eliminate the one mission where astronauts couldn't possibly transfer to the station if things went wrong.

But after a sustained outcry from the astronomical community, the agency promised to revisit the cancellation. Tomorrow--that is, Tuesday, October 31--NASA is holding a press conference to announce whether or not the repair mission will go forward after all. Nobody's leaking the decision. Given NASA's understandable aversion to bad press, though, it's pretty clear that if the mission were off for good, the agency wouldn't be making a big splash about it; they'd issue a press release at 3 A.M on a Sunday, and hope nobody took notice.

In short, the Hubble is getting a new lease on life. That's me talking, but I can virtually guarantee NASA will confirm my announcement in the morning.

TUESDAY UPDATE

NASA Administrator Mike Griffin just announced that they're going ahead. The Hubble will be refurbished and repaired. There will still be a rescue option in case the astronauts discover, once in orbit, that the shuttle has a problem that would make re-entry dangerous: a second shuttle, on the pad and ready to go up and save them. Projected mission date: early 2008.

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