Arr arr, this isn´t exactlly breaking news, but i guess i have to vent some frustration about it. The Hubble was and still is, one of the most important pieces of machinery we have ever made. The images it took are amongst the most beautifull i´ve ever seen. The knowledge we take from it is enormous. So excuse me while i rant here, not understanding why NASA is just letting it crash...
Bush had made a speech where he promissed to boost the NASA budget, to support important projects. So how come we are seeing the exact opposite being done? Hell, how much does it cost to leave it up and running, in comparison to other billion dollar projects? I´d venture it´s a lot cheaper. Instead of reopening the research for smaller and more deadly "nuculer" devices, why don´t they use that money on something that matters?
I would understand it if Hubble had outlived itself past its servicebility, but it hasn´t. Why did they spent millions fixing the miopy problem, only to have it destroyed now? The MIR was old, and decayed. I understood why they just allowed it to drop into the sea. But the Hubble? It´s still in working order, and it will be for a decade or two more.
Hell, sell it, give it away to some private company, i don´t care! Just don´t destroy it because some pencil neck in Washington thinks it´s not worth the money, for Pete´s sake! Give it to the russians, or the japanese. Or the ESA. Just don´t scuttle it.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7353224/ The assessment backs an earlier decision by the White House to scuttle the Hubble. A robotically controlled, liquid-fueled motor would eventually be docked to the telescope. Once ignited, the engine would push the huge observatory into a controlled nose-dive toward a remote ocean spot. PS:
Arr arr, what d´ya think, ye mateys? Shall we make that scurvy o´ Bush walk t´plank n´ good ol´ Jolly Roger? Arr arr! Where me cutlass be? Arr...
