And when wil be Hubble retired?
Because it is soon end of "his" life in space

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Hi 1blue, welcome to the BAUT forum.

Presuming that the Hubble Space Telescope manages to keep its gyros healthy enough to get to the next servicing mission, it should stay in operation for another five to ten years after that. The limiting factor will be that at some point, the new gyros we put in will fail, and before it is completely uncontrollable, it will need to be deorbited.

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NASA sets Hubble Servicing Mission D-Day

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Mission to Save Hubble Could Put Astronauts at Risk

In other breaking news, researchers find that driving to work puts commuters at risk.

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True, but you're average commuter in destress can expect a rescue within 20 minutes to an hour, depending on severity.

Even a distressed ship in foul weather can expect a Coast Guard rescue within a reasonable amount of time, provided they have a reliable means of communication.

A shuttle up the creek is more comparable to a disabled submarine in terms of situational complexity.


Not saying its not worth taking the chance to get the job done, but its hardly a jaunt around the Capitol Beltway, despite the traffic we Marylanders inflict on one another.

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I'm not completely heartless, the doctor who removed it told me he'd never be able to get it all.

Although I agree with that commentary, any more losses, and American public opinion would generally kill NASA. I don't think that the U.S. population believes in acceptable risk anymore.
Anyway; I can see their point:
"You can't get to the station from a Hubble orbit. It is physically impossible," he said.
Although; they do have the solution, it will increase the cost.
Engineers at NASA are considering prepping two shuttles in parallel, with the second shuttle waiting on the other launch pad
Overall; I vote they go. We are not going anywhere in space without taking some risks.

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Astronauts know the risks, if they are ok stepping up into the cabin, I'd say it should be flown.

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The impossible often has a kind of integrity which the merely improbable lacks.

The sickening thing is, the second shuttle will be as window constrained as the first. I'm not sure what the available windows are for Hubble interface orbits, but it could be a bit of a wait for a team in a stranded shuttle.

Even worse, there's nothing to say a second shuttle can't be hurt worse than the bird its supposed to rescue...

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I'm not completely heartless, the doctor who removed it told me he'd never be able to get it all.

I'm just bemused at the fact that the shuttle has flown such missions about a hundred times now (i.e., every shuttle mission not to the space station), but suddenly they verge on being too dangerous even to consider.

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Isn't it amazing what public opinion does?

The most likely disaster is if the shuttle can not re-enter. In that case the wait is not a problem.

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Numbers are not case sensitive. (me)

Heh, its the difference between flying ignorant of the danger, or well aware of it. The risk isn't any greater, we're just more aware of the fact they are in danger.

I'm still very much in the "Go" category, but I understand the risks, even flying the old system, were still not so severe as it is sometimes presented.

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I'm not completely heartless, the doctor who removed it told me he'd never be able to get it all.

They now consider the possiblity of damage to the orbiter that would prevent safe reentry quite a bit more likely now then they did then.

Just how likely one thinks a mission is likely to kill the crew is certainly a rational basis for considering how dangerous something is and whether or not it is worth the risk.

Now whether or not the probabilities back was accurate or the current one is accurate is something can be argued. I comes down to whether or not post-Columbia improvements can be trusted and what degree of danger can be accepted for any particular mission.

Maybe we should state what percent chance of the crew dying are we willing to accept. That is a hard decision.


Or course we would not be in this position if NASA had not delayed so long. It is shameful that there is not already a second "Hubble" up there.

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Hubble Saved: NASA Approves Shuttle Flight to Service Space Telescope

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New Hubble instruments would illuminate early universe

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A great day for discovery and world science.

Must be an election year lol

Agreed.How could you tell?

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Does someone know what the soft capture mechanism on Hubble’s aft end is used for?
I thought this will be the last service mission, so why do they install a capture mechanism?

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Maybe in order to attach a deorbit tool if ever needed?

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I don't think there are any plans any more to install a capture mechanism. Since Griffin thinks sending up a propulsion module to deorbit Hubble is "idiotic", and there won't be any more servicing missions, there's no point.

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