"Roger Balettie" wrote:

"Chuck" wrote:
Boost it into Geo, it can still crosslink to Tedris, be further out of
the atmosphere and won't need fuel to keep from re-entering ...

That won't work for four basic reasons (and I'm sure there are more...) --

1) No booster attachment on HST available
2) HST is too fragile to withstand that sort of translational acceleration
3) VERY expensive to boost something that heavy from 300 miles to over
22,000 miles altitude
4) "TDRS" wouldn't be able to see it easily if it were at the same altitude

Oh boy, are there more! ;-) Most importantly, HST's thermal system
was specifically designed for LEO. Hubble isn't "dressed" appropriately
for any other orbit -- some parts would either be too cold or too hot, and
the heaters would necessarily be on longer away from the warm Earth.

Then again, if it was at GEO, you could just bolt on a high-gain antenna
and transmit direct to Earth -- that would actually simplify communications
and permit a higher data volume.

Frankly, we have the money for SM4, and NASA has every intention of
returning the Shuttle to flight. All that needs to happen for Hubble to
continue operations to 2010 and beyond is for O'Keefe to give the nod.