Rich Allen wrote:
Isn't the Hubble nearing the end of its usefulness anyway?
Without new guidance parts to keep the thing pointing right it's usefulness could end within a couple of years.
Would the servicing mission have added any extra usefulness to the Hubble, or was it meant to be just a maintenance mission? With new guidance parts and all the new hardware that has already been fabricated and is sitting in storage waiting for a ride to Hubble it's useful life could be extended until after NGST ( http://ngst.gsfc.nasa.gov:80/News ) can be launched early in the next decade. In fact, one of the things the folks at STScI were looking forward to was using HST and NGST in tandem.
Here's what STScI has to say on the subject: http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/newsdesk/future Patrick