NASA mulls reviving Hubble telescope

[United Press International]

WASHINGTON, May 10 (UPI) -- NASA has decided to give one
more look at reviving the aging Hubble Space Telescope using a
robotic mission, the Washington Post reported Monday.
Last Jan. 16, the telescope seemed doomed because of
worn-out batteries and gyros, and NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe on
Jan. 16 canceled Hubble's fourth servicing mission. At the time, he
said the shuttle could not fly to Hubble and still comply with new
safety measures recommended after last year's Columbia disaster.
But on Feb. 20, Edward Weiler, NASA associate administrator
for space science put out a Request for Information, inviting ideas
for a robotic servicing mission. So far, 26 responses have been
received.
NASA will have to decide within seven months whether to make
the trip, because it needs three years to prepare a mission by the
end of 2007, when Hubble's batteries are expected to give out.
"If we haven't made a decision (this year), we'll lose the
option," Weiler told the newspaper.