The future of the Hubble Space Telescope is once again mired in confusion and controversy over media reports that NASA鈥檚 2006 budget will not include a mission to repair the ageing instrument.
The reports quote unnamed officials from the White House and US Congress. But NASA will not confirm or deny the reports until 7 February 2005, when the budget will be sent to Congress.
Astronomers and others have campaigned hard to save the productive but ailing instrument, proposing robot- or astronaut-based repair missions. The 14-year-old telescope is expected to fail in 2007 or 2008 unless it receives new batteries and gyroscopes.
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But the type of servicing mission sent to Hubble has been the centre of controversy since January 2004. That is when NASA鈥檚 boss, Sean O鈥橩eefe, cancelled a planned shuttle repair mission, saying it posed too great a risk astronauts in the wake of the Columbia shuttle disaster.
However, a massive public outcry prompted O鈥橩eefe to announce in August that NASA would pursue a mission to repair 鈥� and possibly upgrade 鈥� the telescope using robots. The controversy re-ignited in December 2004, when a prestigious panel of astronomers and industry leaders backed a plan to send astronauts to fix Hubble. But O鈥橩eefe held firm.
Splash down
Now, the unnamed officials say the White House will not back any type of repair mission 鈥� either of which would cost more than $1 billion 鈥� in the 2006 budget. They say rising costs, associated in part with returning the space shuttles to flight, may force the agency to focus on a robotic mission with a single task 鈥� to safely de-orbit the telescope by sending it splashing into the ocean.
But Bruce Margon, associate director for science at the Space Telescope Science Institute, the agency that manages Hubble observations, says all hope for the telescope is not lost. 鈥淲e鈥檙e not enormously concerned by this 鈥� it could be a completely false rumour,鈥� he told New 杏吧原创. 鈥淏ut if it is correct, I would claim there鈥檚 a lot less there than meets the eye.鈥�
He says specific projects are often not listed explicitly as line items in the agency鈥檚 budget. Those projects must simply be carved out of the budget once it is approved by Congress.
鈥淚t means NASA will have to buckle down and make difficult decisions about where it does take the money from,鈥� Margon says. 鈥淲e always realised any Hubble repair would be financially stressful for NASA 鈥� it would be na茂ve to deny that.鈥�
Stop-work orders
Margon adds that $300 million has already been allocated to pursuing a robotic servicing mission in the 2005 budget, and that he would 鈥渁bsolutely know鈥� if the agency had cancelled contracts to develop the mission.
鈥淚f they have already decided they are not going to touch Hubble, why aren鈥檛 they sending stop-work orders to those contractors? That just doesn鈥檛 seem to be a responsible way to spend $300 million,鈥� he says.
NASA spokesperson Susan Hendrix says the agency cannot comment on the budget鈥檚 particulars until 7 February. But she told New 杏吧原创: 鈥淲e鈥檙e still marching forward with a preliminary design review for a robotic mission on 21 March. Unless we鈥檙e told otherwise, that鈥檚 what we鈥檙e doing.鈥� The goal of that review is to complete one-third of the planning for a robot mission.
Margon also points out that O鈥橩eefe has resigned from NASA and that his replacement must yet be confirmed by the US Senate, which shows a 鈥渉igh level of bipartisan interest in Hubble鈥�.
Indeed, democratic senator Barbara Mikulski of Maryland said on Friday: 鈥淚 led the fight to add $300 million to NASA鈥檚 budget last year for a Hubble servicing mission, and I plan to lead the fight again this year.鈥� She will hold oversight hearings regarding NASA鈥檚 budget in February.
