Debris field danger could nix Hubble fix

February 18, 2009

The crash that took out an Iridium satellite and a defunct Russian communications spacecraft may claim an innocent bystander as well -- the Hubble Space Telescope. Without a servicing mission by a space shuttle crew, currently targeted for launch in May, the telescope is not expected to last more than another year or two. Hst

The problem is the expanding cloud of debris that resulted from the unprecedented orbital collision -- more than 600 trackable pieces and growing every day. Whizzing around the planet at 17,500 mph, even tiny shards pack enough energy to severely damage a spacecraft.

Astronauts on spacewalks are even more at risk and there are five spacewalks planned during the Hubble servicing flight to replace the telescope's batteries, install new science instruments (including a new camera) and re-apply radiation shielding.

The risks to a space shuttle visiting Hubble, which orbits  at a higher altitude and closer to the debris field than the International Space Station, were already close to NASA's safety limit due. China blew up one of its satellites in 2007 as part of a missile test, adding hundreds of pieces of potentially hazardous debris. NASA pegged the chance of a catastrophic impact to a shuttle in Hubble's orbit at 1 in 185, already pushing past its limit of 1 in 200.

Mark Matney, an orbital-debris specialist at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, told Nature magazine that even before last week's crash the risk of a debris impact for the shuttle already "uncomfortably close to unacceptable levels. This is only going to add on to that."

A decision about whether to proceed with the Hubble repair mission could be made in the next week or two, Nature reports.

about

Irene Klotz Discovery News space correspondent Irene Klotz chronicles humanity's efforts to leave the planet. One day, she wants to see for herself what all the fuss is about.


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