From CNN:
A fresh salvo was fired Tuesday in the fight to save the Hubble Space Telescope. Maryland Sen. Barbara Mikulski accused NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe of making a unilateral decision to let the observatory die prematurely against the wishes of astronomers."I believe that the future of Hubble should not be [decided] by one man in a NASA back room without a transparent process," Mikulski said, adding that she will continue working to bring the "best advice possible" to bear on possibly reversing the decision.
Scientists and officials here at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), which operates Hubble for NASA, applauded Mikulski for her support, yet some figure it could take a miracle for Hubble to receive a stay of execution. Still, they have not lost hope.
Meanwhile, Hubble made its own case Tuesday for its unsurpassed ability exploring the universe. STScI Director Stephen Beckwith unveiled the deepest photographs ever taken of the cosmos, the results of the Hubble Ultra-Deep Field.
Those pictures, by the way, are freakin' amazing. There are some links to them from the CNN article, so definitely check them out. For whatever it's worth, I've also found a website organizing a petition to save the Hubble...
Posted by Jason at March 11, 2004 11:11 AM