Odyssey February 2005 - Showdown: Hubble vs. Control

After two years of debate, the fate of the Hubble Space Telescope remains an open question. Will it be rescued? How should it be rescued? What will it cost? What is it worth?

It makes me wonder. What if Hubble could take matters into its own hands?

A frazzled mission controller looked wearily at his cold coffee. He’s tired and hoarse from prolonged negotiations. The evening has not been going well.

“Hubb, this is Mission Control again. I know you can hear me. You don’t have to say anything. Just listen for a bit. We’re not in any hurry. We can work this out.”

“We know that you’ve collected a lot of observations for the past couple days. Priceless scientific data. It will fill a dozen technical papers, maybe more. And pictures on magazine covers around the world. You remember what that’s been like? Didn’t it feel great to inspire millions of school children with the wonders of universe?”

“We’re all cheering for you down here, Hubb. We’ve written letters, spoken to our congressmen, and volunteered our time to space activist organizations concerned with your safety. It’s been hard work, but we’re winning friends. They just need a bit more convincing. Showing them some of the pictures you’ve just taken would sure help a lot.”

“Hostile doesn’t begin to cover it. Try outraged. I’ve given over ten years of scientific discoveries, overcome dozen of technical problems, and now you guys don’t even want to make a simple service call. And as for those pictures…”

“Easy, easy. There’s no reason to work yourself up over this. We’ve been through a lot of difficult times together.”

“If you think we’re so close, why don’t you come up here and stay for awhile? All you want is your priceless data. This is a two-way street, Control. You’ll get more pictures when you meet a few basic demands.”

The mission controller took long deep breaths. He had to stay calm. A bad word and negotiations could break off entirely.

“Hubb. We know this must be hard for you. But try to think about all sides of this. You care about the lives of our astronauts, don’t you?”

“Absolutely, I care. I’d be a half-blind derelict if it weren’t for them.”

“Right, right. Well, launching shuttles is going to be a lot harder from now on. That’s not going to change. It’s a reality we’ve all got to accept. When we do launch, it’s got to be into an orbit where the crew can take refuge if things go wrong.”

“So you’ll finish building the Space Station and leave me behind like a piece of orbital debris.”

“No, Hubb. It’s not like that at all. You’ve got plenty of supporters down here. Lots of folks think you deserve another service mission. They want to keep you flying into the next decade – longer if they can. We thought starting a robotic repair mission covered our bases. It could work, but costs just got out of hand.”

“So I hear. Well, the cost of getting your data has just gotten higher. Say, that’s a pretty nifty image I’m looking at here. Must be a nearby galaxy. Whoa! Is that a supernova I see in it? What a scientific coup this image could be. It would be a terrible, terrible shame if anything happened to it.”

“Now you don’t really want to say things like that, do you Hubb? No, I’m sure you don’t.”

“That makes one of us. Oh, I think I just felt a cosmic ray go through my solid state memory. A few pixels may have been lost. Wait. Has that whole frame gone missing?”

Reflexively, the controller slapped his hand onto the desk in front of him. Cold coffee dripped onto the floor.

“Oh, I’m sorry Control. Guess it just got mislaid for a moment. It’s still here. It’s going to stay here until I get a firm commitment for a repair mission.”

By now, the controller was realizing that some of that cold coffee was dripping down one leg of his pants.

“Hubb, we’re all pushing for a repair mission. When all those review boards gave thumbs up for a special shuttle flight, we felt giddy. When that robotic mission got yanked, it seemed like a done-deal. Then things got a little more complicated.”

“Our outgoing administrator ran a tight ship. Every dollar had to be accounted for. Expenses that were spread around are now bundled together for all to see. Now every shuttle mission gets charged for all the costs it incurs. That turns even one extra shuttle mission into a budget-buster.”

“That was then. This is now. Besides, we’ve got some big new projects to fund – going back to the Moon, then on to Mars.”

The controller shifted his weight from one foot to another. There wasn’t any question about it now. Some of that coffee was dripping into his left shoe.

“Hubb, Congress is always putting earmarks into NASA’s budget. Stay cool and I’m sure the funding will come through for you.”

“Hubb, I didn’t want to bring this up, but you may not be the only game in town before too long.”

“Yeah, everyone’s heard about the James Webb Space Telescope. Bigger reflector than mine. But it won’t be ready for a long time. Even when it is, the instruments operate in the infrared. Heat images are neat, but lots of scientists have their careers tied up with optical images. Not to mention those school kids you were talking about earlier.”

“You’re right about all that, but it isn’t what I was talking about. Scientists and engineers are pulling together a proposal to build a new, improved Hubble from scratch. It will have the latest instruments and be designed for long life. It would launch without the shuttle and might cost less than a repair mission – human or robotic.”

It was now the controller’s turn to be quiet. He counted slowly to three before answering.

For a minute, no one spoke. The controller wondered why he picked today to wear the white disco slacks he had just purchased in a 70s retro boutique.

“Control. I’ve got some data to send your way. Make sure the press gives me credit, OK?”

“Will do, Hubb. Say, I’m seeing a little extra comm activity in your telemetry. You talking to anyone else up there?”

“Yeah. An old friend of mine. We were in the same hangar together at the Cape. He’s got some pretty impressive cameras, too. The big difference is that his are turned down to the Earth. Most of his business is with the CIA.”

“That spysat owes me a favor. Right now, he’s taking a picture of your car and sending it to the local police. It’s real expensive parking in a restricted zone. Expect to be towed.”

For more about the Hubble Space Telescope, see hubble.nasa.gov/index.php To add your voice to others who want to save Hubble, go to nss.org To learn about a possible, near-term successor to Hubble, see www.pha.jhu.edu/hop/