Two Hubble Rescue Reports Due Soon

6 December 2004: National Academies Advisory: Dec. 8 News Conference on Hubble Space Telescope

"ASSESSMENT OF OPTIONS FOR EXTENDING THE LIFE OF THE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE, a new congressionally mandated report from the National Academies' National Research Council, assesses the viability of proposed shuttle or robotic missions to upgrade the telescope. The report will be released at a one-hour news conference."

6 December 2004: Report Discourages NASA Plan to Save Hubble, NPR

"A confidential report commissioned by NASA has concluded that the space agency's plan to use a robot to save the Hubble telescope is highly risky. The robot would install two new instruments and replace batteries and gyroscopes."

Executive Summary, Aerospace Corp (Via NPR)

6 December 2004: Robotic fix for Hubble challenged, MSNBC

"According to an executive summary obtained by MSNBC.com, the report concludes that robotic missions are too challenging given the time remaining until the telescope's systems begin failing. A public affairs official at Aerospace Corporation declined to comment on the details of the report, noting that it was up to NASA whether the report was publicly released."