As most of you know, plans to extend the Hubble Space Telescope’s (HST) life past 2006 were initially rebuffed by NASA, which was going to allow the telescope to make a controlled reentry into the atmosphere some time after that. Thankfully, the agency has come to its senses, as “NASA engineers got the thumbs up on Monday to start planning a robotic mission to rescue the Hubble Space Telescope.” According to the story, at least a year of planning will go into the mission, which would not launch for at least three years. I’m very happy to hear that the HST may have an extended lease on life, as its unparalleled discoveries have only just begun.
