Posthuman Blues

Human touch needed to repair Hubble

"Ever since a human servicing mission fixed its initial blurry vision, the Hubble Space Telescope has been one of the most remarkable facilities in the history of science and, with the now-canceled equipment upgrades, would continue its breakthrough scientific observations into the next decade. NASA says the Webb Telescope will replace the Hubble in 2011. The Webb should be a wonderful instrument if its highly experimental design works, but its infrared capability would be complementary to the Hubble's visual and ultraviolet range, not a replacement for it. At this stage, the Webb is still just a design, not a proven observatory, and it will be doing well to reach orbit by 2015."

Finally -- someone with the guts to state the obvious.