From: LARRY KLAES (ljk4_at_msn.com)
Date: Mon Jan 19 2004 - 07:39:23 PST
January 17, 2004
NASA Cancels Trip to Supply Hubble, Sealing Early Doom
By DENNIS OVERBYE
=20
Savor those cosmic postcards while you can. The National Aeronautics and =
Space Administration decreed an early death yesterday to one of its =
flagship missions and most celebrated successes, the Hubble Space =
Telescope.=20
In a midday meeting at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, =
Md., two days after President Bush ordered NASA to redirect its =
resources toward human exploration of the Moon and Mars, the agency's =
administrator, Sean O'Keefe, told the managers of the space telescope =
that there would be no more shuttle visits to maintain it.
A visit by astronauts to install a couple of the telescope's scientific =
instruments and replace the gyroscopes and batteries had been planned =
for next year. Without any more visits, the telescope, the crown jewel =
of astronomy for 10 years, will probably die in orbit sometime in 2007, =
depending on when its batteries or gyroscopes fail for good.
"It could die tomorrow, it could last to 2011," said Dr. Steven =
Beckwith, director of the Space Telescope Institute on the Johns Hopkins =
University campus in Baltimore. Dr. Beckwith said he and his colleagues =
were devastated.
At a news conference last night, Dr. John M. Grunsfeld, the agency's =
chief scientist and an astronaut who has been to the Hubble two times, =
called the the telescope the "best marriage of human spaceflight and =
science."=20
"It is a sad day that we have to announce this," Dr. Grunsfeld added.
As the news flashed around the world by e-mail, other astronomers joined =
the Hubble team in their shock. Dr. David N. Spergel, an astronomer at =
Princeton and a member of a committee that advises NASA on space =
science, called it a "double whammy" for astronomy. Not only was a =
telescope being lost, but $200 million worth of instruments that had =
been built to be added in the later shuttle mission will also be left on =
the ground, Dr. Spergel said.
Dr. Garth Illingworth, an astronomer at the University of California at =
Santa Cruz who is also on the advisory committee, said, "I think this is =
a mistake," noting that the Hubble was still doing work at the forefront =
of science.
Dr. Tod Lauer, of the National Optical Astronomy Observatories in =
Tucson, said, "This is a pretty nasty turn of events, coming immediately =
on the heels of `W's' endorsement of space exploration."
The demise of the Hubble will leave astronomers with no foreseeable =
prospect of a telescope in space operating primarily at visible =
wavelengths. The announcement also precludes hopes that astronomers had =
of using the Hubble in tandem with the James Webb Space Telescope, =
scheduled for launching in 2011 and which is being designed for infrared =
wavelengths, to study galaxies at the far reaches of time.
Ground-based telescopes like the 10-meter-diameter Kecks on Mauna Kea =
are growing more powerful, and the use of adaptive optics to tune out =
the blurring effects of the atmosphere lets them approach the resolution =
of the Hubble in limited cases. But they are blinded by the atmosphere =
to ultraviolet and infrared light.
Floating above the murky atmosphere of Earth, the Hubble, launched in =
1990, has had the ability to see into the depths of space and time with =
unprecedented clarity, glimpsing galaxies that were under construction =
when the universe was half its present age and helping cosmologists =
chart how the mysterious "dark energy" has gradually taken over the =
expansion of the universe.
Periodic service calls by shuttle astronauts repaired a series of early =
problems and have continually refurbished the telescope and kept it at =
the fore of cosmic research. The mission next year would have left the =
telescope in good shape to continue working through the end of the =
decade, when NASA plans to bring it down. But the service missions are =
expensive, more than $500 million each.=20
More important, NASA officials say, after the Columbia catastrophe a =
year ago, the missions are also considered dangerous. The shuttles do =
not carry enough fuel to reach the space station in case of trouble.
In its report on the shuttle disaster last summer, the Columbia Accident =
Investigation Board recommended that there be a way to inspect and =
repair the shuttle's heat shields, which were damaged after the Columbia =
lifted off. That is easily conducted if the craft is at the space =
station, but not at the Hubble.=20
In his remarks to the astronomers on Friday, according to those present, =
Mr. O'Keefe referred to that recommendation and said it would be too =
difficult to develop that ability for a single trip to the telescope.
Given enough time, NASA might have developed the tools to do it, Dr. =
Grunsfeld said, but the decision to retire the shuttles in 2010 =
foreclosed that possibility.=20
"Cost was not an issue," he said.
Many astronomers, however, noting that the decision came on the heels of =
Mr. Bush's directive to NASA to reallocate $11 billion of its resources =
over the next five years into returning people to the Moon, said money =
was doubtless also a consideration.
Presenting the decision as a safety-related issue, the astronomers said, =
lessened the odds that it would be challenged, by, say NASA's =
Congressional overseers.
NASA is not completely off the hook as far as the Hubble is concerned. =
The agency is committed to bringing it back to Earth safely after its =
useful life ends. Until the Columbia accident, NASA had planned to =
retrieve the telescope with a shuttle and put it in the Smithsonian. Now =
the plan is to build a robotic rocket that would go up, attach itself to =
the telescope and fire its engine to brake Hubble out of orbit and drop =
it in the ocean.
Paradoxically, Dr. Spergel said, the cost of developing such a rocket, =
estimated at $300 million or more, would come out of the NASA astronomy =
budget. It is, he said, another double whammy.
One mission gets canceled, he said, and "what's our next mission, =
deorbit the telescope?"
For now, of course, the Hubble lives. Dr. Beckwith said: "We at the =
institute are devastated by the potential loss of Hubble. But we will do =
our absolute best to make the final years of its life the most glorious =
science you've ever seen."
January 16, 2004
NASA Creating Office for Missions to the Moon and Beyond
By KENNETH CHANG
A day after President Bush announced renewed efforts for human space =
exploration, NASA announced yesterday that it was creating an office to =
develop technologies for missions to the Moon and beyond.
The announcement, part of a reorganization of the midlevel bureaucracy, =
begins what is likely to be a wrenching transition as the agency tries =
to fulfill its new mandate.
In his speech on Wednesday at NASA headquarters in Washington, Mr. Bush =
said the space program would shift its focus from near-Earth orbit. The =
new program will divert $11 billion out of $86 billion in NASA budgets =
over the next five years. The agency will also retire the three =
remaining space shuttles after the International Space Station is =
completed, in 2010.
Among the hard decisions for NASA in the next weeks and months is =
whether to continue sending the shuttle to maintain and upgrade the =
Hubble Space Telescope. The fourth such mission is scheduled for 2006, =
which would suffice until the planned retirement of the telescope in =
2010. But some astronomers have been lobbying for another round of =
maintenance to extend its lifetime.
With the new mandate, "it seems unlikely that NASA would consider a =
fifth servicing mission," Dr. Steven Beckwith, director of the Space =
Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, which runs the telescope, =
wrote in an e-mail message.=20
With the diversion of money toward the exploration program, "it is =
entirely possible that they will cancel" the 2006 Hubble mission, Dr. =
Beckwith said. Without maintenance, the telescope would probably end in =
2007, he said.
"It would be devastating to optical astronomy and to one of NASA's most =
popular programs ever," Dr. Beckwith said. "I hope that keeping Hubble =
alive to its planned end of life in 2010 is part of NASA's new vision."
NASA has not given details of its plans, saying they will have to await =
the release of the agency's budget next month.
After the shuttles are grounded in 2010, NASA will not have any ability =
to send astronauts to space until a new spacecraft, the crew exploration =
vehicle, starts operation in 2014. That will leave NASA and the other =
nations participating in the International Space Station reliant on =
Russian rockets for transportation.
At present, Russia is obligated to provide Soyuz capsules until 2006. =
Congress has barred NASA from paying Russia for space-station- related =
services.
Mr. Bush announced a commission of non-NASA experts to be led by Edward =
C. Aldridge Jr., a former secretary of the Air Force, that will make =
recommendations on how NASA should use the new mandate. The commission =
is to report by the end of the summer.
In the reorganization, NASA named a retired Navy rear admiral, Craig E. =
Steidle, as associate administrator in charge of the new Office of =
Exploration Systems. Among the office's tasks will be developing the =
crew exploration vehicle, the craft that is to carry astronauts back to =
the Moon by 2020, and Project Prometheus, which is developing nuclear =
propulsion systems for deep space probes.
"The idea," a spokesman for NASA, Michael Braukus, said, "is to have a =
better concentration in the technology area and to have an office =
specifically dedicated to exploration."
Since retiring in March 2000, Admiral Steidle has been an aerospace =
consultant.=20
Spacecraft development previously fell under the purview of NASA's =
Office of Aerospace Technology. In the reorganization, the aerospace =
technology office, renamed the Office of Aeronautics will focus on =
cutting-edge aviation technologies.
Dr. J. Victor Lebacqz, who has been acting associate administrator for =
the aerospace technology office, is now associate administrator for the =
aeronautics office. The reorganization also added four offices, the =
chief engineer, health and medical systems, the chief information =
officer and institutional and corporate management.
"We live in a different world than we did just a few years ago," =
Frederick D. Gregory, deputy NASA administrator, said in a statement. =
"And our management structure should reflect the priorities and =
objectives of our commitments."=20
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