Hoyer Applauds Recommendation for New Hubble Telescope Servicing Mission

WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Steny Hoyer released the following statement today after the National Academy of Sciences Committee on the Assessment of Options for Extending the Life of the Hubble Space Telescope released their interim report recommending a new manned servicing mission to repair and extend the life of the Hubble Space Telescope. The Academy conducted their assessment at the request of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

"The recommendation by the National Academy of Sciences is a clear recognition of the unique role that the Hubble Space Telescope plays in broadening our scientific understanding of the observable universe. I endorse the Academy's recommendation for a manned servicing mission to repair Hubble and extend its life so that future generations will be able to further understand and explore distant galaxies and the mysteries of space. I look forward to working with my colleagues to make sure that a new servicing mission is adequately funded and supported," said Congressman Hoyer.

The interim report specifically stated, "The committee urges that NASA commit to a servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope that accomplishes the objectives of the originally planned SM-4 mission, including both the replacement of the present instruments with the two instruments already developed for flight—the Wide Field Camera-3 and the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph—and the engineering objectives, such as gyroscope and battery replacements. Such a servicing mission would extend the life of this unique telescope and maximize its productivity."

The Hubble Space Telescope is managed and operated by Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland for the Office of Space Science at NASA Headquarters. The scientific operations of the Hubble Space Telescope Mission are conducted at the Space Telescope Scientist Institute, located at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

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