Pat Flannery wrote:
On 7/7/2011 10:15 AM, Anne Onime wrote:
I thought the Europeans were crazy flying
two telescopes on a single Ariane 5 to L1, but those didn't have
complex mechanisms to deploy.

Why didn't they just build another Hubble, bigger and better, but
serviceable robotically with replaceable batteries and reaction
wheels or something? How big a telescope can one fit inside a
Atlas V or Falcon Heavy anyway? Surely something Hubble-sized
would fit, right?

I keep wondering if the fact that the JWST was to be launched on a
Ariane V is playing any part in it maybe getting axed?

Ah, but now that Elon Musk and SpaceX have announced Falcon Heavy,
and, ostensibly it has even more lifting capacity than Ariane V:

http://www.spacex.com/falcon_heavy.php

("Please disregard the different heights and inclinations within the
table." ...as in "Disregard that man behind the curtain")

NASA and Congress could double-down and launch *two* JWSTs?-)

rick jones
--
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