[extropy-chat] Soyuz Hubble Repair Mission

[Mike Lorrey]

--- Bret Kulakovich <bret at bonfireproductions.com> wrote:

> 
> Greetings,
> 
> ISS is @ 51- 52, Hubble is either 28.5 or 32 (?)
> 
> A shuttle doesn't have enough reserves in RCS/OMS to do both.

Of course it doesn't. ISS got put where it is so the Russians could
launch as much cargo to it as possible from their high latitude sites,
while the Hubble is where it is because its allows the most cargo to be
lifted there from launches at Cape Canaveral. Since the shuttle isn't
going to the Hubble any more, we should either start launching Soyuz
from the Cape, or move the shuttles to Siberia, or both.

Anyways, my Phillips OTV idea doesn't require the shuttle to go to the
Hubble. The OTV can be launched by a Titan or Delta IV or smaller
booster, so it would cost ~$10-20 million to launch. If the OTV is
built and sitting in a warehouse somewhere, it might be picked up for
surplus. Considering they are budgeting $300 million to simply de-orbit
the Hubble, it should be profitable to offer to save it for half that.

The problem is that the institutions and laboratories want to trash
Hubble for the same reason NASA had the plans for the Saturn V burned:
they don't want competition, they don't want anybody offering things
private for less. They want big budget government projects keeping
government scientists employed at public servant salaries and benefits
packages for decades.

=====
Mike Lorrey
Vice-Chair, 2nd District, Libertarian Party of NH
"Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom.
It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves."
                                      -William Pitt (1759-1806) 
Blog: http://www.xanga.com/home.aspx?user=Sadomikeyism

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