Studies: But It Would Have To Be A Manned Mission

The fate of the much-acclaimed Hubble Space Telescope no longer rests in the hands of mission managers at NASA. It reportedly rests instead in the hands of NASA accountants, whose system of prioritizing has been referred to as "Byzantine."

As early as a year ago, ANN began reporting on NASA's dilemma over the Hubble. Since the Columbia disaster, the space agency has had to rethink space shuttle missions and a trip into high orbit to once again repair Hubble simply fell off Administrator Sean O'Keefe's plate.

Scientists and astronomers determined not to lose what many called the single most valuable tool ever dedicated to the exploration of the cosmos lobbied hard to save the space telescope.

Eventually, O'Keefe agreed to consider a robotic mission to the Hubble.  But now, two of the three panels examining such a mission say it probably won't come together before 2007 -- generally viewed as the edge of the window for saving the aging vehicle.

As the furor has grown, however, NASA has wielded its ultimate big stick -- the aforementioned accounting department -- which says, if the space agency is to fund a Hubble rescue mission (which could cost upwards of $1 billion), other projects may go lacking. In hearings on Capitol Hill this week, Princeton Physics Professor Joseph Taylor, Jr., said in that case, scientists will probably stop pushing for a mission to save the space telescope.

"There is some accounting that doesn't compute," Louis Lanzerotti, a physics professor who chaired the national academy's Hubble review, told lawmakers. He was quoted by Florida Today.

Lawmakers apparently agree.

"We have to make hard choices about whether a Hubble (repair) mission is worth it now, when moving ahead is likely to have an adverse impact on other programs, including quite possibly other programs in astronomy," said Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, R-NY, the Science Committee's chairman. He, too, was quoted by the Florida newspaper.

FMI: www.nasa.gov, www.hubblesite.org