Robot or manned mission to Save HST

"NASA has decided that MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd should be the ones to send a robot up to the Hubble Space Telescope for a much needed servicing. Many astronomers argue that a manned mission is the only way to rescue the aging, yet vital telescope. If they are to go ahead, MDA will base the technology for the rescue machine on the two-armed robot used to service the International Space Station, Dextre. If successful, the unmanned mission to save the HST would involve attaching a module that would enable Hubble to re-enter orbit and come back to earth safely.

The National Academies’ National Research Council is adamant that a manned mission is the only way to save Hubble, as stated in its December 2004 report. It is thought that by the time the robotic mission could be put together and launched, in 2007, it could be too late because there is a strong possibility that the telescope’s batteries or gyroscopes will have failed by then – leaving repair impossible no matter how they decide to do it."