# Hubble is Dead **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 7, 2004, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hubble-is-dead/258706 "2004-08-07T00:21:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2004, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hubble-is-dead/258706/1 "2004-08-07T00:21:24Z")
[NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope’s Imaging Spectrograph Has Failed](http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=13591) (Aug 6, 2004) > [@](#): > > On August 3, 2004 @ 16:38 GMT (12:38 PM EDT) the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) suspended after suffering a failed command echo check between the Control Section (CS) of the STIS Main Electronics Box (MEB) and the Multi-Anode Micro-channel Array (MAMA) Control Electronics (MCE). > … > Accordingly, it is now believed that STIS’s mechanism functions are inoperable and unrecoverable. Because STIS has been single-string in its electronics since May 2001, it can no longer be used for science observations. The view was nice while we had it. I guess I’ll go back to rubbing two sticks together, and staring at the sky with a Mark 1 eyeball. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2004, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hubble-is-dead/258706/2 "2004-08-07T00:38:17Z")
Don’t knock staring at the sky, Squink. You just gotta do it right. Drive out of town, up into the mountains, preferably. Find someplace you can sit and chill for hours in relative peace and isolation. Light up a doobie, put on, say, some Pink Floyd or David Byrne. Perhaps Franz Ferdinand. And just lie back and watch the universe ro-o-o-otate… ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2004, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hubble-is-dead/258706/3 "2004-08-07T00:52:39Z")
> [@Squink](#): > > The view was nice while we had it. I guess I’ll go back to rubbing two sticks together, and staring at the sky with a Mark 1 eyeball. > ☹ Actually, things aren’t quite as dire as you may think. The instrument that failed appears to only be the spectrograph. I’m not trying to belittle the loss. (IMNSHO, shuttle missions to keep Hubble operating are more likely to have continued benefits than continuing to build the heavily Proxmired ISS.) But the visible light telescope itself seems to be still operating. According to [NASA’s Hubble Site](http://hubble.nasa.gov/technology/science-instruments/) the spectrograph was only one of four or five instruments on the HST for taking observations. We still have the wide field and narrow field optical telescopes and the high energy spectroscope. We aren’t down to the Mk I eyeball, yet. 😃 Though, like **SPOOFE** , I can’t say tht the Mk I is completely useless, either. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2004, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hubble-is-dead/258706/4 "2004-08-11T21:16:33Z")
NASA eyes Canadian robot for Hubble repairs: [http://www.cbc.ca/story/science/national/2004/08/10/hubble\_dextre040810.html](http://www.cbc.ca/story/science/national/2004/08/10/hubble_dextre040810.html) ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2004, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hubble-is-dead/258706/5 "2004-08-11T21:26:12Z")
I so totally have an alibi for whatever time period that thing got busted! ---
**Author:** ![Hung\_Mung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e4f/32.png) [@Hung\_Mung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hung_Mung)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2004, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hubble-is-dead/258706/6 "2004-08-11T21:26:13Z")
Long Live CHANDRA! ---
**Author:** ![Demo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demo/32/8472_2.png) [@Demo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Demo)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2004, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hubble-is-dead/258706/7 "2004-08-11T22:55:20Z")
As sad as it is, I think it’s time to retire our dear Hubble. With the new ground-based arrays and other telescopes coming out the cost to maintain Hubble is approaching _ludicrous speed_. 😉 They have equal or superior resolution to Hubble, across the spectrum, and are far cheaper to maintain. Spend that money on other missions or a new orbital telescope, I say. ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2004, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hubble-is-dead/258706/8 "2004-08-11T23:56:14Z")
> [@Demo](#): > > As sad as it is, I think it’s time to retire our dear Hubble. With the new ground-based arrays and other telescopes coming out the cost to maintain Hubble is approaching _ludicrous speed_. 😉 They have equal or superior resolution to Hubble, across the spectrum, and are far cheaper to maintain. Spend that money on other missions or a new orbital telescope, I say. What, and let all those civil service jobs in Maryland go to waste? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Podkayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Podkayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Podkayne)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2004, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hubble-is-dead/258706/9 "2004-08-12T01:18:08Z")
Cripes, **Squink** , you nearly gave me a heart attack. _Pod says a quiet prayer for the continued safety of WFPC and goes back to work._ ---
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2004, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hubble-is-dead/258706/10 "2004-08-12T01:25:16Z")
Make sure to check for any large dog-bone shaped sattelites in the area, it may have been piloted by under-skilled janitor… Mike broke the Hubble, Mike broke the Hubble!.. ---
**Author:** ![Podkayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Podkayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Podkayne)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2004, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hubble-is-dead/258706/11 "2004-08-12T01:30:33Z")
Zap: What the hell is that thing? Kiff: It appears to be the mother ship. Zap: Then what did we just blow up? Kiff: The Hubble Telescope. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2004, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hubble-is-dead/258706/12 "2004-08-12T01:57:17Z")
> [@Demo](#): > > With the new ground-based arrays and other telescopes coming out the cost to maintain Hubble is approaching _ludicrous speed_. 😉 They have equal or superior resolution to Hubble, across the spectrum, and are far cheaper to maintain. Sure, but they can’t achieve peak performance consistently. In my field (solar physics), a there are several 1-meter ground-based telescopes that can achieve 0.1 arcsec resolution. But even with adaptive optics, they can only do this for a small field of view, and only if the atmosphere is stable to begin with. That means a few nights per month if you’re lucky. A space-based solar telescope, the Solar-B satellite, is currently being built for probably 10 times the cost. It will achieve 0.2-arcsecond resolution 24 hours a day for months on end, so it’s well worth the cost. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2004, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hubble-is-dead/258706/13 "2004-08-12T02:03:56Z")
> [@scr4](#): > > Sure, but they can’t achieve peak performance consistently. > > In my field (solar physics), a there are several 1-meter ground-based telescopes that can achieve 0.1 arcsec resolution. But even with adaptive optics, they can only do this for a small field of view, and only if the atmosphere is stable to begin with. That means a few nights per month if you’re lucky. A space-based solar telescope, the Solar-B satellite, is currently being built for probably 10 times the cost. It will achieve 0.2-arcsecond resolution 24 hours a day for months on end, so it’s well worth the cost. I’ve read that an updated electronics package would improve Hubble’s resolution even more (remember, she’s only running on a 486 chip), and I wouldn’t be surpised if the CCD in Hubble’s in the low megapixel range compared to what we have now. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2004, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hubble-is-dead/258706/14 "2004-08-12T05:28:08Z")
[NASA to Save Hubble](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3554752.stm) ---
**Author:** ![duffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duffer/32/1026_2.png) [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2004, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hubble-is-dead/258706/15 "2004-08-12T05:54:45Z")
> [@MacTech](#): > > Make sure to check for any large dog-bone shaped sattelites in the area, it may have been piloted by under-skilled janitor… > > Mike broke the Hubble, Mike broke the Hubble!.. Beautiful, man, just beautiful. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Angua](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8baadc/32.png) [@Angua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angua)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2004, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hubble-is-dead/258706/16 "2004-08-12T09:49:44Z")
> [@Turkey Curse](#): > > Long Live CHANDRA! _eyes **Turkey Curse** from a distance_ You’re not one of them there _X-ray_ astronomers are you? If so, welcome to the club! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2004, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hubble-is-dead/258706/17 "2004-08-12T19:37:47Z")
The STSCI is right behind my house. If my dog wants to cross the stream to poop, he goes right on their backyard. I always wonder if they look out the window and go “there’s that dog again”. I’m worried when they get shut down if the STSCI is going to get boarded up windows and become a “shooting gallery” for the heroin addicts. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2004, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hubble-is-dead/258706/18 "2004-08-12T19:53:26Z")
> [@Angua](#): > > _eyes **Turkey Curse** from a distance_ > > You’re not one of them there _X-ray_ astronomers are you? > If so, welcome to the club! 😃 Hey, I thought you were an infrared astronomer, Angua. Anyhow, this is as good a time as any to bring up the mighty, but sadly-little-known, [Spitzer Space Telescope](http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/Media/releases/ssc2004-08/ssc2004-08a.shtml) ---
**Author:** ![Angua](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8baadc/32.png) [@Angua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angua)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2004, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hubble-is-dead/258706/19 "2004-08-15T19:42:36Z")
> [@MaxTheVool](#): > > Hey, I thought you were an infrared astronomer, Angua. Nope, X-ray and radio. We do have infra-red astronomers in our group though.