[extropy-chat] ASTRO: Hubble fate sealed

Robert J. Bradbury bradbury at aeiveos.com
Sat Jan 17 14:06:15 UTC 2004


Well, ashes to ashes and dust to dust.  NASA seems
to have sealed the fate of the Hubble...

NASA Cancels Trip to Supply Hubble, Sealing Early Doom
Dennis Overbye, Jan 17, 2004
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/17/science/17HUBB.html?hp=&pagewanted=print

Estimated end of its useful lifetime is 2007-2011 though gyroscope failures
could shorten that.

So it looks like for the near future what we have is:

Hubble: until 2007?: (was launched on Shuttle (STS-31) April 24, 1990)
SIRTF (Spitzer): Aug 2003 - ~2006; (launched on Delta II heavy)
  http://sirtf.caltech.edu/
Herschel: (2007-2010) (launch planned with Planck on Ariane 5)
  http://herschel.jpl.nasa.gov/herschel/index.html
NGST (Webb): Aug. 2011-~2021 (launch planned on Ariane 5)
  http://www.ngst.nasa.gov/

So it looks like from perhaps 2007 to 2011 the U.S. will have
minimal observational capability in space (the Herschel is
primarily an ESA mission).  It would also appear that we
are losing our ability to launch our own telescopes.

Robert





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