Lord of the Ring

This week we're reporting that NASA's plan for servicing the Hubble Space Telescope next year opens an option to keep on upgrading the observatory even after the shuttle fleet is retired in 2010. Astronauts will leave behind a next-generation docking ring at the end of the final scheduled servicing mission, in the hopes that NASA's Orion capsule -- or possibly a commercial vehicle -- can use it before Hubble falls out of the sky. If not, a robot will use the ring to hook on a deorbit motor to bring the telescope down safely in the Pacific. Hubble might stay in orbit another 20 years.

How hard do you think NASA should push itself and its commercial partners to figure out how to use the ring to keep Hubble going? How could astronomers use a revived Hubble in 2025 or so? What's your opinion?

--Frank Morring, Jr.

Comments

[Gaetano Marano - Italy]

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MONTHS ago I've suggested (in three Unviverse Today forum threads) to join a Progress docking port to the Hubble and move it near the ISS to repair/upgrade in the next 20 years:

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Moving Hubble near ISS for frequent maintenance?
.bautforum.com/showthread.php?t=50793

Alternatives to shuttle servicing Hubble
.bautforum.com/showthread.php?t=52801

MANY (good and bad) news and info about the 4th (and LAST) Hubble Servicing Mission
.bautforum.com/showthread.php?t=55399

so, the decision to attach a LIDS docking ring (the same of the Orion) to the Hubble is a very good news for me!

however, I still think that this Shuttle HSM4 is too expensive (up to $2.4Bn from a GAO evaluation) and (most important!) TOO RISKY for TWO Shuttle crews (as I explain in my posts in the three BAUT threads)

then, my suggestion is to DELETE the SM4 at all and wait the day that this mission could be accomplished SAFELY

consider that, without the SM4, he Hubble can work until 2013 (or more) and, also if (after 2013) it becomes NON OPERATIVE that doesn't mean it will DIE but remains in "stand-by" so it can wait a few year to be repaired again

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off-topic but interesting...

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"The underside LAS" article update
.gaetanomarano.it/articles/020newLAS.

"Possible an Orioncopter?" article
.gaetanomarano.it/articles/025orioncopter.

Ares-I could be completely unnecessary!
.gaetanomarano.it/articles/026shuttleorion.

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[Ruri]

Too bad Spacex's Dragon capsule isn't ready yet as it could be carried in the cargo bay of the shuttle as a lifeboat without too much impact to the payload capacity.
Though it could be ready by 2009 if spacex was given more money to found a few all up tests on an EELV or speed up falcon 9s development.

Another option if they could be bought and flown unmanned would be to have two Soyuz craft standing by ready to launch which just might be cheaper then keeping a shuttle on stand by.
Otherwise three would be needed to return the minimum 6 crew members since a single person is all that is needed to pilot the Soyuz.

Last would be to carry two Soyuz spacecraft minus OMs just the decent module and a partly fueled service module minus solar panels up inside the shuttle but that would eat up too much payload.
But if the DM alone can be used with just a simple retro pack it would be only 6500kg leaving the shuttle with another 6000kg to 18000kg for Hubble parts,stand and tools also the RMS must be carried as well so that comes out of the left over payload.
Hubble's orbit would be somewhere in between the 28 degree 200mile orbit payload the bigger number and the ISS payload the lower number.