Space Shuttle Should Conduct Final Servicing Mission To Hubble SpaceTelescope (Forwarded)

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National Academies
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Dec. 8, 2004

Space Shuttle Should Conduct Final Servicing Mission
To Hubble Space Telescope

WASHINGTON -- To ensure continuation of the extraordinary
scientific output of the Hubble Space Telescope and to prepare
for its eventual de-orbiting, NASA should send a space shuttle
mission, not a robotic one, says a new congressionally requested
report from the National Academies' National Research Council. The
agency should consider launching the manned mission as early as
possible after the space shuttle is deemed safe to fly again,
because some of the telescope's components could degrade to
the point where it would no longer be usable or could not be
safely de-orbited, said the committee that wrote the report.

"A shuttle servicing mission is the best option for extending the
life of the Hubble telescope and ultimately de-orbiting it
safely," said committee chair Louis J. Lanzerotti, distinguished
research professor at the New Jersey Institute of Technology,
Newark, and consultant, Bell Laboratories, Lucent Technologies,
Murray Hill, N.J. "NASA's current planned robotic mission is
significantly more technologically risky, so a robotic mission
should be pursued only for the eventual removal of the Hubble
telescope from orbit, not for an attempt to upgrade it. Also,
a shuttle mission could be used to place equipment on the
telescope to make a robotic de-orbiting mission more feasible."

The Hubble telescope, which has operated continuously in orbit
for the past 14 years, was designed to be serviced regularly by
astronauts. Four servicing missions replaced nearly all the key
components while increasing the telescope's capabilities. The
fifth and final mission -- to replace aging batteries,
fine-guidance sensors, gyroscopes, and two scientific
instruments -- was originally intended to be completed by a
shuttle crew as well, but NASA is currently planning an
unmanned mission to service the telescope robotically.

The committee's principal concerns about a robotic mission are
the risk of failing to develop it in time and the risk of a mission
failure, as well as the possibility that the robot could critically
damage the telescope. A robotic mission would face significant
challenges in using its grapple system to perform autonomous
close-proximity maneuvers and the final capture of the space
telescope -- activities that have no precedent in the history
of the space program and whose chances of success are low,
according to the committee.

"Our detailed analyses showed that the proposed robotic
mission involves a level of complexity that is inconsistent
with the current 39-month development schedule," said Lanzerotti.
"The design of such a mission, as well as the immaturity of
the technology involved and the inability to respond to
unforeseen failures, make it highly unlikely that NASA will
be able to extend the scientific lifetime of the telescope
through robotic servicing."

The committee assessed the safety risks of a shuttle servicing
mission by comparing shuttle missions to the International
Space Station -- to which NASA plans to send 25 to 30 more
shuttle flights -- and shuttle missions to the Hubble telescope.
The differences between the risks faced by the crew of a
single shuttle mission to the space station and the risks
faced by the crew of a mission to the Hubble telescope are
very small, the committee concluded.

Also, a shuttle crew would be able to successfully carry
out unforeseen repairs to the Hubble telescope and develop
innovative procedures for unexpected challenges in orbit,
the report notes. Such contingencies have been successfully
addressed on three of the four prior missions to the
telescope. A robotic mission, on the other hand, might not be
able to repair failures that it is not designed to address,
possibly stalling the mission in its early stages.

"With the replacement of aging components and the installation
of new science instruments, Hubble is expected to generate as
many new discoveries about stars, extra-solar planets, and the far
reaches of the universe as it has already produced so far, with
images 10 times more sensitive than ever before," Lanzerotti said.

The study was sponsored by NASA. The National Research Council is
the principal operating arm of the National Academy of Sciences
and the National Academy of Engineering. It is a private, nonprofit
institution that provides science and technology advice under
a congressional charter. A committee roster follows.

Copies of "Assessment of Options for Extending the Life of the
Hubble Space Telescope" will be available early next year from
the National Academies Press; tel. 202-334-3313 or 1-800-624-6242
or order on the Internet at http://www.nap.edu. Reporters may
obtain a pre-publication copy from the Office of News and
Public Information (contacts listed above).

NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL
Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences
Space Studies Board
and
Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board

Committee on the Assessment of Options for Extending the Life
of the Hubble Space Telescope

Louis J. Lanzerotti [1] (chair)
Distinguished Research Professor
New Jersey Institute of Technology
Newark, N.J.
and
Consultant
Bell Laboratories, Lucent Technologies
Murray Hill, N.J.

Steven J. Battel
President
Battel Engineering
Scotsdale, Ariz.

Charles F. Bolden Jr.
Major General
U.S. Marine Corps (retired)
and
Senior Vice President
TechTrans International Inc.
Houston

Rodney A. Brooks [1]
Fujitsu Professor of Computer Science
and
Director
Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge

Jon H. Bryson
Senior Vice President
The Aerospace Corp. (retired)
Chantilly, Va.

Benjamin Buchbinder
Program Manager for Risk Assessment
Office of Safety and Mission Assurance
NASA (retired)
and
Consultant
Bonaire, Antilles
Netherlands

Bert Bulkin
Director, Scientific Space Programs
Lockheed Missiles and Space Co. (retired)
Woodbridge, Calif.

Robert Dunn
Vice Admiral
U.S. Navy (retired)
and
President
National Consortium for Aviation Mobility
Alexandria, Va.

Sandra M. Faber [2]
Professor of Astronomy
University of California Observatories/Lick Observatory
University of California
Santa Cruz

B. John Garrick [1]
Independent Consultant
Laguna Beach, Calif.

Riccardo Giacconi [2]
Research Professor
Johns Hopkins University
and
President
Associated Universities Inc.
Washington, D.C.

Gregory J. Harbaugh
Vice President and Director
Florida Air Museum
Lakeland

Tommy W. Holloway
Independent Consultant
Houston

John M. Klineberg
President
Space Systems/Loral (retired)
Redwood City, Calif.

Vijay Kumar
Professor and Deputy Dean for Research
School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia

Forrest S. McCartney
Lieutenant General
U.S. Air Force (retired)
and
Vice President
Launch Operations
Lockheed Martin Astronautics Cape Canaveral Air Station (retired)
Indian Harbour Beach, Fla.

Stephen M. Rock
Professor
Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics
and
Director
Aerospace Robotics Laboratory
Stanford University
Stanford, Calif.

Joseph H. Rothenberg
President
Universal Space Network
Horsham, Pa.

Joseph H. Taylor Jr. [2]
James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor of Physics
and Former Dean of the Faculty
Princeton University
Princeton, N.J.

Roger E. Tetrault
Chief Executive Officer
McDermott International Inc. (retired)
Punta Gorda, Fla.

Richard H. Truly [1]
Vice Admiral
U.S. Navy (retired)
and
Director
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Golden, Colo.

RESEARCH COUNCIL STAFF

Sandra J. Graham
Study Director

[1] Member, NationAcademy of Engineering
[2] Member, National Academy of Sciences

[NOTE: Full report is available for viewing at
http://www.nap.edu/books/0309095301/html/ ]