WASHINGTON, March 12 (UPI) -- The Hubble Space Telescope, destined for an early death, may have won at least a temporary reprieve as the U.S. Congress pressures NASA to keep it going.
Bowing to pressure, NASA agreed to a new study of plans to cancel a space shuttle mission to repair and upgrade the telescope, the New York Times reported Friday.
Astronomers who scan the telescope's spectacular images of the universe were jubilant. But, NASA administrator Sean O'Keefe said he saw little chance of any new evidence that would change his mind.
O'Keefe said that even congressional critics of his decision to abandon the telescope agreed there should be no shuttle mission that did not fully comply with safety recommendations from the board that investigated the loss of the Columbia and its crew last year.
He said it was "not likely" that a service mission to the telescope would ever meet those safety requirements before Hubble stops operating around 2007.
