Posted: Sat, Feb 7, 2004, 11:09 AM ET (1609 GMT)
NASA's decision to cancel a shuttle servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope cannot be justified on safety grounds alone, according an anonymous engineer's reports. The New York Times reported Saturday that the papers, written by a NASA engineer who did not identify himself because of concerns he would lose his job, conclude that a shuttle mission to Hubble would be just as safe as one to the ISS. Those papers note that the Columbia Accident Investigation Board's final report included recommendations that NASA develop an independent capability to inspect and repair tiles, and not solely rely on doing such work at the station. Concerns about shuttles in orbit too damaged to return to Earth safely could be alleviated by scheduling the Hubble mission shortly before one to the ISS; in the event the Hubble shuttle could not return, the next shuttle would already be available to mount a rescue mission. The report is being treated as a credible analysis by astronomers, engineers, and Congressional staffers, and is likely to come up during a House Science Committee hearing on Thursday February 12.

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•  New York Times article