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WASHINGTON -- A Colorado congressman and seven colleagues introduced a resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives March 3 urging NASA to establish an independent panel of experts to review its recent decision to forgo any further servicing of the Hubble Space Telescope.
Rep. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) said in a statement that he introduced the resolution to draw attention to Hubbles scientific contributions to ensure that the telescope is not abandoned in the next several years without someone other than NASA Administrator Sean OKeefe having a say. NASA announced Jan. 16 that it was canceling a planned space shuttle mission to service Hubble, citing the danger of launching the shuttle to a destination other than the international space station.
Udall wants an independent review of that decision, as well as the underlying safety assumptions that prompted OKeefe to cancel the mission.
"Precisely because of Hubbles extraordinary contributions in the past and promised contributions in the future, I also believe it is important that the decision to cancel the planned servicing mission to Hubble be reviewed by an independent panel of experts and all options for safely carrying it out be examined," Udall said in the statement.
While the review is under way, Udall said, planning and preparations for the canceled servicing mission should continue.
Udall represents an area of Colorado that includes Ball Aerospace & Technology, the Boulder-based company that builds instruments for Hubble. Udall said canceling the servicing mission could strand $200 million worth of new instruments that are largely finished.
Joining Udall as co-sponsors of the resolution are Reps. Todd Akin (R-Mo.), Roscoe Bartlett (R-Md.), Bart Gordon (D-Tenn.), Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), Nick Lampson (D-Texas), Jim McDermott (D-Wash.), and C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-Md.).
In late January, under pressure from Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), OKeefe asked retired U.S. Navy Adm. Harold Gehman, the chairman of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board, to review the Hubble servicing mission in light of the recommendations Gehmans board made on resuming shuttle operations. OKeefe has made clear, however, that he does not intend to change his position based on anything Gehman might say.
NASA and Senate sources said Gehman is not expected to report his findings before the week of March 15, when he is due to return from travel.
NASA, meanwhile, is soliciting ideas from industry about how it might extend Hubbles scientific lifetime without conducting another shuttle servicing mission.
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