Academy, GAO to Study Possible Robotic Hubble Mission

Abstract

The battle over the fate of the Hubble Space Telescope intensified last week as Congress ordered two independent studies to examine whether NASA should launch a shuttle to service the observatory. And although NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe still insists that sending astronauts on a repair mission would be unsafe, he left open the possibility of a robotic mission that could prolong the life of the 14-year-old telescope.