STUPID...STUPID...STUPID!!!!!!!!!!! If this repair mission by a shuttle is too dangerous, we sure as hell don't need to be in space!
"If this repair mission by a shuttle is too dangerous,"
The concern is that Hubbles orbit is not the same as the space station. There is not enough fuel on board the shuttle to reach the space station from Hubbles orbit. Therefore if a Shuttle had the same damage as Columbia did and could not repair it in orbit the crew would die before a rescue shuttle could be launched.
Hubble has served well and I believe gone beyond its designed lifespan. We will build better space scopes. Hubble is getting old, and many new ground based observatories using new techniques are approaching Hubble performance. Hubble is NOT the end of space based astronomy by any stretch of the imagination. I am not entirely opposed to a repair mission to Hubble. But safety for human lives, risk management and goals are all weighed against each other. Hubble has had a very good run. No one can complain considering it was launched with a severe problem. We got lucky that it was something a workaround was found for. I promise you there are new telesopes to be built in the future that will leave Hubble in the dust.
Lets start pushing for those new telescopes now.
It is time to implement the 'Moon Mars and Beyond' program. We haven't sent astronauts or much of anything else to the moon for several decades, thereby wasting the entire careers of many engineers who responded to the Gov't call for more engineers in the late 50s. The space program essentially ended for most about 1971. Now it is being restarted even better than before. Let's roll!
One wonders why anyone would even consider rebuilding this thing again.
Build a new one.
I can think of a lot of jobs that are too dangerous. But they are done, and done by people willing to take a risk. Bless those who are willing to take chances in life.