Resolution Introduced in the House of Representatives to Establish an Independent Panel to Review NASA’s Decision Regarding the Hubble Space Telescope

108TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. RES.

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives relating to the extraordinary
contributions resulting from the Hubble Space Telescope to scientific
research and education, and to the need to reconsider future
service missions to the Hubble Space Telescope.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Mr. UDALL of Colorado submitted the following resolution; which was referred
to the Committee on

RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives relating
to the extraordinary contributions resulting from the
Hubble Space Telescope to scientific research and education,
and to the need to reconsider future service missions
to the Hubble Space Telescope.

Whereas discoveries from the Hubble Space Telescope have
dominated space science news over the last 10 years;

Whereas the Hubble Space Telescope has provided proof of
black holes, insights into the birth and death of stars, spectacular views of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9’s collision
with Jupiter, the age of the Universe, and evidence that
the expansion of the Universe is accelerating;

Whereas the inspiring scientific discoveries from the Hubble
Space Telescope reach millions of students each year and
have been important in encouraging students to study the
sciences;

Whereas installation of new instruments in 1997 and 2002
improved Hubble’s observational capabilities by a factor
of 10;

Whereas the 2000 National Academy of Sciences Decadal
Survey endorsed a plan to maintain the Hubble Space
Telescope until 2010;

Whereas the Hubble Space Telescope has been the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration’s most scientifically
productive mission, accounting for 35 percent of all
National Aeronautics and Space Administration discoveries
in the last 20 years;

Whereas the demand for research time on the Hubble Space
Telescope in 2003 was approximately 8 times that available;

Whereas approximately $200,000,000 worth of instruments
have largely been built, including scientific instruments
that would provide significant improvements in Hubble’s
scientific power and including replacement gyroscopes
and batteries, which could keep the telescope in operation
until 2011 or 2012 and make the Hubble Space Telescope’s
final years its most scientifically capable and productive;

Whereas the distinguished panel that studied scientific priorities
for ultraviolet and optical astronomy in 2003 considered the continued operation of the Hubble Space Telescope
by means of the SM–4 servicing mission to be its
highest priority; and

Whereas the American Astronomical Society, the largest professional
scientific association for astronomers and astrophysicists,
believes a panel of experts should review the
decision to limit prematurely the lifespan of the Hubble
Space Telescope: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives

(1) recognizes the extraordinary contributions resulting from the Hubble Space Telescope to scientific research and education;

(2) strongly recommends that the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration appoint an independent panel of expert
scientists and engineers inside and outside of the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration to
examine all possible options for safely carrying out
the planned servicing mission to the Hubble Space
Telescope; and

(3) expresses its strong sentiment that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration should 14
continue all planning, preparation, and astronaut
training activities for the SM–4 servicing mission
without interruption until the expert panel issues its
report and until the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration provides a timetable of compliance with recommendation R6.4–1 of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board report, which calls for ”a
fully autonomous capability for all missions to address the possibility that an International Space Station mission fails to achieve the correct orbit, fails
to dock successfully, or is damaged during or after
undocking”, since National Aeronautics and Space
Administration compliance with the recommendation
will allow both a Hubble servicing mission and missions to the International Space Station to be carried out safely.