SO THE icon of NASA’s space science programme is to be allowed to fade away. Next year’s planned shuttle mission to Hubble, due to install two new instruments and replace ailing gyros and ageing batteries, has been cancelled, prompting astronomy fans all the way up to the Maryland senator Barbara Mikulski to inundate NASA with requests to reconsider.
Their dismay is hardly surprising. Thanks to an impressive back catalogue of discoveries – and NASA’s formidable PR machine – this is a telescope that has captivated a whole generation. Hubble images are now the subject of art exhibitions. Even pictures whose…
