Greg D. Moore \(Strider\) ) wrote:

: "Explorer" wrote in message
: oups.com...
: This is a dumb idea. One of the chief purposes of the robotic servicing
: mission for Hubble is to develop the technologies to allow automated
: rendezvous and docking.


: That's putting the cart before the horse.

: If we want to develop automated R&D we can do it at ISS far cheaper and
: easier.

Right, but thre is nothing like an actual practical application like
fixing the Hubble.

: If NASA cancels the robotic mission in favor of
: this new idea, astronauts will be able to service the telescope, but we
: will once again lose the opportunity to develop robotic technologies
: critical for exploring the Moon and Mars.
:

: There's nothing about HST that makes it the only choice for this.

Right, but HST is in need of a fix by 2007. Can you think of anything else
that has a similar need? The point is that robot repair technology hasn't
been tested. Testing it before we go to HST may be the prudent thing to
do. But once tested, I can't think of a better first real application
than HST.

Eric