Gentlefolk,

NASA chief Sean O'Keefe has agreed to reconsider his decision to abandon the Hubble Space Telescope! Mr. O'Keefe has now asked Harold Gehman, who led the Columbia accident inquiry, to look into the Hubble issue.

No more servicing would limit Hubble's life to approximately three more years.

He made the decision earlier this month because he decided that flying the shuttle anywhere other than to the International Space Station was too dangerous following the Columbia disaster. If anything went wrong on a flight, the shuttle's astronauts would at least be able to wait on the ISS until a way was found to bring them down safely to Earth.

But astronomers pointed out that NASA would also have to plan for a situation in which the space shuttle got into space but could not dock with the ISS. In this scenario, NASA would have to ensure that astronauts could inspect the shuttle, and perhaps repair it, without help from the ISS.

It follows, therefore, that if the shuttle can go into space without visiting the ISS, it should also be able to visit the Hubble telescope as well.

I sure hope that this logic is as persuasive to Mr. Gehmen as it is too me!

__________________
Eudaimonia