WASHINGTON, Feb. 10 (UPI) -- Documents making the rounds at the U.S. Capitol question NASA's decision to cancel a space shuttle mission to repair the aging Hubble Space Telescope.
Last month Sean O'Keefe, NASA's administrator, said safety -- not budget -- was the prime factor in his decision not to send a shuttle mission to the Hubble in 2006 to replace gyroscopes, batteries and instruments. Without that equipment, the telescope would slowly lose function.
United Press International obtained copies of the so-far anonymous documents, one of which said: "The final planned (Hubble) Servicing Mission, SM4, will be at least as safe as shuttle flights to the International Space Station."
After the Columbia tragedy last year NASA decided that to assure the safety of a crew flying to service Hubble, another shuttle would have to be fueled and ready to go in case the first orbiter was damaged and unable to return to Earth.
If a rescue mission became necessary to assist the crew of a Hubble servicing mission, the rescue crew would have to attempt the very risky and never-before-staged transfer of crewmembers from one space shuttle to another.
One document said if NASA is comfortable with not having a rescue shuttle on standby for space station missions, it should be comfortable flying a mission to service Hubble -- because the risk is the same.
