A newly formed 20-person blue-ribbon panel that includes scientists, former astronauts, NASA managers, aerospace industrialists, a member of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board, and a robot expert will be taking a hard look at prolonging the mission of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST).

The study team is charged with independently evaluating what course of action can be taken regarding the fate of the famed orbiting observatory.

The study group is taking on several items:

• Consider issues of safety in using the space shuttle for HST servicing with an astronaut crew;
• Look into the feasibility of robotic servicing approaches;
• Assess the impacts of servicing options on the scientific capability of the HST, and;
• Judge risk/benefit relationships between servicing options that are deemed acceptable.

The prestigious group is also charged to estimate to the extent possible the time and resources needed to overcome any unique technical or safety issues associated with HST servicing that are required to meet recommendations outlined by the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB), as well as an internal NASA study team, called the Stafford-Covey Return-to-Flight committee.

In addition, the panel is to assess the response of Hubble Space Telescope to likely component failures and the resulting impact on servicing feasibility, lost science, and the ability to safely dispose of HST at the end of its service life.

According to the study groups statement of work provided to SPACE.com :

"NASA plans to continue operation of the HST until it can no longer support scientific investigations--currently anticipated to occur in the 2007-2008 time frame. The telescope's life may, in fact, be extended if NASA is successful in employing operational techniques to preserve battery and gyroscope functions. Meanwhile, NASA is investigating innovative ways to extend the science lifetime of the HST for as long as possible, including robotic servicing. Current plans are to safely de-orbit HST by means of a robotic spacecraft by approximately 2013."

The Hubble Space Telescope uses three gyroscopes to provide precision attitude control. They are required to make pinpoint observations of distant astronomical targets.

"There are currently four functional gyros on HST--three in operation plus one spare. Based on longevity experience with the gyros to date, it is likely that the system will be down to two operating gyros by about March 2006," points out the statement of work.

"The HST engineering team is currently working on approaches to sustaining useful astronomical operations with only two gyros, and they hope to have that capability by the time it becomes necessary. Two-gyro testing is slated to begin in March 2005, and there are hopes that even a one-gyro mode might be feasible for limited operations. The spacecraft can be held in a safe configuration with no operating gyros, but science operations would not be possible then," the statement of work observes.

While no deadline for the committee report is specified in the material provided to SPACE.com , it is noted that the panel will investigate the possibility of providing an interim report to NASA on a fast-track basis.

Hubble Space Telescope Study Group Members

• Louis Lanzerotti, chair of the Hubble study group, consults for Bell Laboratories, Lucent Technologies and is a distinguished professor for solar- terrestrial research at the New Jersey Institute of Technology.
• Steven Battel, a private consultant expert in space research and engineering;
• Charles Bolden, Jr., former shuttle astronaut and now senior vice president at TechTrans International, Inc.;
• Rodney Brooks, director of the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology;
• Jon Bryson, senior vice president at The Aerospace Corporation;
• Benjamin Buchbinder, an expert in risk assessment;
• Bert Bulkin, emeritus director of Scientific Space Programs at Lockheed Missiles and Space Company;
• Robert Dunn, vice admiral, U.S. Navy (retired) and an independent aerospace consultant; Sandra Faber, professor of astronomy at the UCO/Lick Observatory, University of California, Santa Cruz;
• Riccardo Giacconi, president of Associated Universities, Inc., and a research professor at Johns Hopkins University;
• Gregory Harbaugh, a former shuttle astronaut and currently vice president and director of the Florida Air Museum;
• Tommy Holloway, retired manager of the International Space Station Program Office for NASA's Johnson Space Center;
• John Klineberg, former president of Space Systems/Loral;
• Vijay Kumar, professor and deputy dean for research in the School of Engineering & Applied Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania;
• Forrest McCartney, retired vice president for Launch Operations at Lockheed Martin Astronautics Cape Canaveral Air Station, Florida;
• Stephen Rock, associate professor in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Stanford University;
• Joseph Rothenberg, currently an independent consultant and former NASA associate administrator for Space Flight;
• Joseph Taylor, Jr., the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor of Physics and former dean of the faculty at Princeton University;
• Roger Tetrault, recently served as a member of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB); and
• Richard Truly, director of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and a past NASA administrator and former astronaut.