Report to NASA by the NAS Committee on the Assessment of Options for Extending the Life of the Hubble Space Telescope
The National Academies
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Phone: 202 334 3477
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Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board
Space Studies Board
July 13, 2004
The Honorable Sean O’Keefe
Administrator
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Washington, DC 20546-0001
Dear Mr. O’Keefe:
At the request of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Research
Council recently established the Committee on the Assessment of Options for Extending the Life
of the Hubble Space Telescope.1 The committee’s statement of task charges it to assess the
viability of a shuttle servicing mission, evaluate robotic and ground operations to extend the life
of the telescope as a valuable scientific tool, assess telescope component failures and their impact,
and provide an overall risk-benefit assessment of servicing options.2 The statement of task
includes the possibility of transmitting an interim report to NASA prior to the submission of a
final report.
