Enhancing Hubble's Vision by David J. Shayler & David M. Harland

Author:David J. Shayler & David M. Harland
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Springer International Publishing, Cham

Astronauts or robotics

While the debate about whether to fly SM-4 raged, work on a robotic service mission was underway at Goddard. By the spring of 2004 Frank Cepollina ’s servicing team had assessed dozens of proposals. Their work had advanced to a level where they could brief O’Keefe on April 20. The following day he reported enthusiastically to Mikulski ’s Senate subcommittee on the potential for either a robotic servicing or de-orbiting mission. O’Keefe got behind the concept, although there were issues concerning the ability of robots to replace batteries and gyros in the telescope. The proposal to link up a propulsive module with the aft bulkhead to nudge the telescope to atmospheric destruction seemed more plausible. O’Keefe likened the enthusiasm for this to that associated with the first servicing mission, over a decade earlier. On June 1, NASA issued a request for proposals for an HST Robotic Servicing-Deorbiting Module with a mid-July delivery date—just 6 weeks, reflecting the urgency that it placed on developing the concept, building the hardware, testing it, and completing the mission by 2007. The mission priorities were given in ascending order of complexity as firstly to safely de-orbit of the telescope, secondly to extend the operational life of Hubble by “adding new batteries and gyros”, and thirdly to install new scientific instruments.

One of many proposals for robotically servicing Hubble , incorporating techniques and elements of the “Dextre” system developed for the ISS.

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