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NASA plans to service Hubble

NASA administrator Michael Griffin said Friday he would proceed with planning for a shuttle visit to the Hubble Space Telescope, despite a two-month delay in the fleet’s return to flight.

Griffin declared a proposed robotic servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope "off the table." He told reporters he would proceed with planning for the Hubble servicing mission on the presumption that it will pass muster following return-to-flight technical reviews.

The aging telescope, launched in 1990, is at risk of equipment breakdowns that will make it inoperable. Of particular concern are Hubble’s gyroscopes, which keep the telescope properly positioned for celestial observations and its batteries.

Engineers and managers involved in planning a shuttle servicing mission to Hubble will be meeting soon at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., to resume work, Griffin said.

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