"Bush kills the Hubble"
Golly. I know it's popular to hate the President and really popular to hate Bush Jr., but to blame him for killing the Hubble seems a little short sighted. I was reading on a general message board how people believed that if it weren't for Bush invading IRAQ we wouldn't be in the position of needing to decommission the Hubble Telescope.
For anyone that isn't familiar with the Hubble project, I recommend viewing some images and news stories at: http://www.space.com/hubble/
It was brought to my attention that at least a few people out there believe Bush is "flip-flopping" after pushing for advances in space exploration last year and then cutting hubble from the budget this year and suggesting the cuts are necessary because of spending in IRAQ.
Whether or not the cuts are "necessary" is irrelevant. The people in charge of the program and the guys at good ol' John Hopkins believe that the danger involved in attempting to repair a project that was FUBAR from the start outweighs the cost of attempts, whether the money is available or not.
The Hubble was problematic (if memory serves) before it was complete, covered up, disclosed, repaired (WAY over budget) and launched even though the repairs didn't fix the problems and the project is still plagued with problems. The money and danger involved with additional repair missions would be better spent on a replacement telescope.
How can this be a problem with Bush? I see it as sign of some intelligent thought from the Bush administration. Following the recommendations of the people who know best is usually a good plan. Much better than telling the "experts" what to say.
Hopkins recommendation news: http://sse.jpl.nasa.gov/news/display.cfm?News_ID=10380
For anyone that isn't familiar with the Hubble project, I recommend viewing some images and news stories at: http://www.space.com/hubble/
It was brought to my attention that at least a few people out there believe Bush is "flip-flopping" after pushing for advances in space exploration last year and then cutting hubble from the budget this year and suggesting the cuts are necessary because of spending in IRAQ.
Whether or not the cuts are "necessary" is irrelevant. The people in charge of the program and the guys at good ol' John Hopkins believe that the danger involved in attempting to repair a project that was FUBAR from the start outweighs the cost of attempts, whether the money is available or not.
According to an international team led by Johns Hopkins University astronomers, the best answer may lie not in a robot-led or manned repair mission, but through the launch of a brand new, free-flying telescope called the "Hubble Origins Probe."I could blame the Bush administration for my decision to not add a second level to my house, but the reality is that it's a bad investment that wouldn't see beneficial returns and therefore the money is being earmarked for a new house. That's a decision I make whether or not cash is available budget-wise. That's the decision being made by NASA in regards to the Hubble.
The Hubble was problematic (if memory serves) before it was complete, covered up, disclosed, repaired (WAY over budget) and launched even though the repairs didn't fix the problems and the project is still plagued with problems. The money and danger involved with additional repair missions would be better spent on a replacement telescope.
How can this be a problem with Bush? I see it as sign of some intelligent thought from the Bush administration. Following the recommendations of the people who know best is usually a good plan. Much better than telling the "experts" what to say.
Hopkins recommendation news: http://sse.jpl.nasa.gov/news/display.cfm?News_ID=10380
posted by tiedyejeremy at 9:11 AM
1 Comments:
Hey there. Thanks for commenting on my blog. Always good to hear from other Phans out there. I see that you're new to the blogging community, so welcome. I don't know why we do it either. The reasons I started doing it aren't the same as the reasons I keep doing it. There are few people whose blogs I follow every day, and there are a few who follow mine.
I'm what you might call a Bush-hater, but I don't want to get into that too much. I'm not sure how much of the decision not to repair Hubble was even Bush's to make.
I will say, however, that spending in Iraq had nothing to do with it. The cost for the war in Iraq isn't even included in the budget that was just submitted (neither is Afghanistan, the war on terror, or his social security scheme). The reason that there are across the board spending cuts is Bush's tax cuts for the wealthy. Rolling back those tax cuts would solve a lot of problems.
At any rate, it is just a shame that Hubble will be no more. Here is a link to my favorite Hubble site and here is my favorite spot on that site to get wallpaper for my pc.
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