by I think that NASA ought to make time to save the Hubble telescope. I’m disappointed in this country’s lack of vision as regards space exploration. Other than Bush’s vague gestures toward Mars, nothing of interest has been done or said in what seems like decades. Where is the replacement for the space shuttle? Where are our bases on the moon?
It’s a problem that a telescope is one of the most interesting projects in space science; it’s a travesty that it’s one that’s 15 years old. Yet, the one thing that could make a bad situation worse is to abandon it over a repairable problem.
NASA chief Sean O’Keefe is a big part of the problem. Talking about repairing Hubble last month, O’Keefe said:
“Could we do this (with a shuttle crew) and take that risk? Sure. But someone else will have to make that decision. Not me, because I’m not going to.”
Now that’s inspiring leadership. But I suppose we shouldn’t blame him. After continually being under-funded and over-criticized by Congress, we’ve gotten a NASA designed by politicians instead of scientists. Little wonder that it’s less than optimally effective.
Update at 10/31/2006 11:37:16 AM
NASA will try to fix Hubble after all.
Must be because of my enormous influence in the blog-o-sphere. 🙂
