The Hubble Space Telescope arguably has become the world’s favorite science project, equally beloved by the general public and the scientific community. Its amazing images inspire awe and wonder in even the most cynical, and it is the most significant advance in astronomy since Galileo’s telescope.
It is fitting then, that both scientists and the public are praising NASA’s decision, announced by Administrator Dr. Michael Griffin on Oct. 31, to send a fifth servicing mission to prolong its life.
Public opinion, however, has not always been in Hubble’s favor. It has a long history of increasing costs that could have spelled its demise, had public opinion alone been the deciding factor.
Similar cost overruns and missteps doom other scientific projects that could produce equally earth-shattering scientific breakthroughs. A quick look at Hubble’s history may remind us that the path to scientific discovery is not always easy but is almost always worth the investment.
Hubble launched four years behind schedule. Even before it left the ground, costs had accumulated to five times the originally projected budget. A significant processing flaw in the mirror, not revealed until it was already in orbit, severely compromised its capabilities. It has required ongoing service missions (like the one just announced) that cost hundreds of millions of dollars each and risk the lives of several astronauts. And the building and maintenance costs for Hubble are 100 times that of a similar ground-based project.
At these major roadblocks, the public saw an expensive and disastrous decision to proceed. NASA pushed on, and scientists devised many other fixes to prolong Hubble’s operability. It has paid off.
Hubble has observed more than 14,000 astronomical targets from our solar system to the most distant galaxies, producing stunning images that have introduced people around the world to the wonders of the universe. Embedded within each image is a treasure trove of scientific data that has contributed significantly to astronomical research.
Hubble has enabled us to estimate the age of the universe; contributed to the discovery that the expansion of the universe is accelerating; indicated the existence of “dark energy”; provided our deepest view yet into the universe’s distant past; revealed the birth, formation, and death of stars; exposed the presence of black holes at the center of most galaxies; and played a key role in determining the distances and energies of gamma-ray bursts.
Five spacewalks during the mission will add two new instruments to Hubble and allow many more years of productive scientific research from this great telescope.
NASA’s decision to perform one more servicing mission for Hubble demonstrates its ongoing commitment to science and discovery. NASA continues to pursue exploration in a safe manner that mitigates risk and produces great science.
Meanwhile, a successor for Hubble is already under development. The James Webb Space Telescope will have capabilities to see deep into time and space that will dwarf those even of the upgraded Hubble, and the new lease on life for Hubble should not in any way delay or distract NASA from fielding this even more awesome instrument.
As we cheer NASA’s decision to extend the life of Hubble, we anticipate even greater discoveries from the James Webb Space Telescope and NASA’s numerous other ongoing scientific projects, including vital research on the International Space Station.
Pulham is president and chief executive officer of the Space Foundation (www.SpaceFoundation.org).
