NASA has changed its mind yet again about the Hubble Space Telescope. Earlier this year, it cancelled plans to send astronauts to upgrade it and scoffed at the idea of sending a robot to do the job. But NASA chief Sean O鈥橩eefe now says a robotic repair mission may be possible after all.
Hubble鈥檚 gyroscopes and batteries are wearing out. NASA had long planned to send a few astronauts in the shuttle to carry out the repair, but in January O鈥橩eefe decided that flying to Hubble was too risky. Instead, NASA planned to send a robotic spacecraft to guide Hubble to a fiery end in the South Pacific. This prompted a stream of proposals for robotic spacecraft that could keep Hubble going rather than help destroy it. One idea is to build a robot that carries new gyros and batteries for Hubble, and connect it to the telescope through the umbilical used for shuttle service missions.
With the clock ticking for the ageing Hubble, NASA needs to make a final decision soon.
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