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Risk AnalysisA National Academies panel says the Hubble Space Telescope is too valuable ;or gamblingon a long-shot robotic mission to extend its service life, and urges Directly contradicting Administrator Sean O'Keefe, who killed a planned fifth shuttle servicing mission to the telescope on grounds it was too dangerous for a human crew in the post-Challenger environment, the expert committee found that upgrades to shuttle safety actually should make it less hazardous to fly to the telescope than it was before Columbia was lost. Risks of a telescope-servicing mission are only marginally greater than the planned missions to the International Space Station (ISS) O'Keefe has authorized, the panel found. After comparing those risks to the dangers inherent in trying to develop a complex space robot in the 39 months remaining in the Hubble s estimated service life, the panel opted for the human mission to save one of the major achievements of the American space program, in the words of Louis J. Lanzerotti, its chairman.
Document ID
20040191715
Acquisition Source
Headquarters
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Morring, Frank, Jr.
(NASA Headquarters Washington, DC United States)
Date Acquired
August 22, 2013
Publication Date
December 13, 2004
Publication Information
Publication: Aviation Week and Space Technology
Volume: 161
Issue: 23
Subject Category
Engineering (General)
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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