NASA-Commission Report Urges Repair Of Space Telescope

The National Research Council really, really wants NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe to rethink his decision against sending a manned rescue mission to the Hubble Space Telescope. At least on the surface, it appears Mr. O'Keefe got the message.

Even though he's said he would rather attempt to repair and replenish Hubble with a robotic mission, O'Keefe told the NRC he'd "keep our options open to assure the best possible outcome."

O'Keefe cancelled plans for a shuttle mission to the Hubble last January. He decided, in the wake of the Columbia disaster, that a manned mission to the space telescope in 2006 would simply be too much of a risk.

But Tuesday, a hand-picked, Congressionally-approved committee of 20 NRC scientists, begged to differ. "The committee has recommended that NASA keep its options open, that NASA should not preclude a space shuttle servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope at this point in time," Louis Lanzerotti, a consultant for Bell Laboratories and Lucent Technologies who chaired the committee, told reporters. He was quoted in the Houston Chronicle.

The NRC's final report isn't due for another two months. But calling the Hubble "arguably the most important telescope in the world," the scientists decided to speak up early in hopes of getting O'Keefe to change his mind.

FMI: http://hubblesite.org