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).

[ This news release and report are available at http://national-academies.org ]

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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, 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, National Academy of Engineering ² Member, National Academy of Sciences

John Bluck Dec. 8, 2004 NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif. Phone: 650/604-5026 or 604-9000 E-mail: jbluck@mail.arc.nasa.gov

Gretchen Cook-Anderson/Donald Savage NASA Headquarters, Washington Phone: 202/358-0836/1727 AGU NEWS Phone: 415/905-1007

MEDIA ADVISORY: 04-108AR NASA ANNOUNCES SCIENCE NEWS CONFERENCES AT AGU FALL MEETING

NASA researchers will present findings on a variety of Earth and space science topics at the American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting in San Francisco, Dec. 13-17.

NASA news conferences are in the Moscone Convention Center West, Room MCC 2012. Three of the news conferences offer call in questions from reporters. For assistance on the teleconferences call Sarah Dewitt at: 301/286-0535.

NEWS CONFERENCE: RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN CLIMATE CHANGE, TREES AND INSECTS: Monday, Dec. 13 at 10 a.m. PST. Insect control and tree planting could greatly affect Earth's greenhouse gases, according to  

From: "Prof. Helmut G. Hinghofer-Szalkay, MD, PhD" Date: Wed Dec 8, 2004 11:35:10 AM US/Eastern To: Cc: Subject: Feedback Message from SpaceRef Web Site

Name: Prof. Helmut G. Hinghofer-Szalkay, MD, PhD

Subject: Symposium 2005

Message: Sir, Madam,

In May 2005, we will be hosting the 15th Humans in Space Symposium, organized on behalf of the International Academy of Astronautics. The meeting motto this time will be 'benefits of human presence in space', and the emphasis will be on biomedical and life sciences aspects of space travel and related areas, like immobilization and weightlessness models. There is a multitude of connections to clinical care, prevention and therapy.

We expect at least 300 top level attendants from all over the world. Therefore, we would like to draw your attention to this meeting. Please check our website:

http://www.uni-graz.at/space2005/

Please note that our abstract submission deadline is December 31, so there is still time to send us papers. We would very much appreciate if you could circulate this information.

We are looking forward to your contact. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Kind regards

Helmut G. Hinghofer-Szalkay, M.D., Ph.D. Professor of Medical Physiology Symposium Chair http://webdb.uni-graz.at/~hinghofe/

Date sent: (12/8/2004 8:35:10 AM)