Hi Brian,

I agree with you 100%, there is still plenty to be learned from the Hubble
if it were to be brought safely back to earth. Maybe not from an
astronomers point of view, but an engineering point of view. Launched in
1990, with a planned end of mission in 2010, that gives it 20 years in the
low earth orbit environment.

Another low earth orbit environment study, was LDEF, had it's stay in orbit
extended by the Challenger disaster. But, Hubble has spent much more time
in space. Plus, from an engineering standpoint, I would think it would be a
great study on orbital debris. It could even be used as a control in future
leo orbital debris studies. A great turn of the millennium orbital debris
data point. Especially if it is allow to continue to 2010, 10 before and 10
years after the year 2000.

The tube or sun-shield essentially blocks half the sky from orbital debris
from impacting the inside of the tube. It's entire attitude history is well
known. I would think that it would be very interesting to see what the
impact distribution inside the tube looks like, as well as impacts to the
mirror and exterior.

It would be hard to come up with a better control data point for future
orbital debris studies.

It just doesn't seem right to have a dummy model of anything in a museum.

Craig Fink

Brian Gaff wrote:

I'd have thought that it might actually be useful to get it back and
examine what and how it has aged in orbit. Not having much luck are they?
They lost skylab, Mir was brought down, now although its possible, nobody
wants to risk it for Hubble... Well, I expect they will pay for a dummy
model to be made...

:-)

Brian

--
Brian Gaff....
graphics are great, but the blind can't hear them
Email:

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"Craig Fink" wrote in message
hlink.net...
| .. belongs in the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, not spread across
| the earth as a debris field.
|
| http://www.msnbc.com/news/994737.asp?0cv=TB10
|
| begin quote
|
| In the wake of the space shuttle Columbia disaster, NASA pulled the plug
on
| any plans it had to retrieve the Hubble Space Telescope at the end of
| its life so it could be displayed in a museum.
|
| end quote, begin rant
|
| NASA (or better yet Congress) should pull the plug on some NASA
| managers, instead of the Hubble Space Telescope. The Hubble Space
| Telescope has contributed so much to our the knowledge of the Universe
| it would be criminal not to put it in a museum for display along with
| all it's achievements.
|
| NASA management, definitely the "Wrong Stuff". Not a care in the world
| about spreading Columbia all across East Texas, but worried about Hubble
| debris. Not a creative or innovative thought about how to repair
| Columbia on-orbit with the stuff they had on-board. No wonder they can't
| figure out how to make a repair kit for the heat shield so they can
| service or bring Hubble down safely.
|
| end rant
|
| Save the Hubble, from a disgraceful death,
|
| Craig Fink


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