From: henry@spsystems.net   
      
   In article <40BE1C56.D5E253F1@nospam.com>,   
   Andrew Nowicki   wrote:   
   >Are they going to abandon the James Webb Space Telescope when its   
   >batteries and gyros wear out?   
      
   That's the baseline plan, yes.  Although its batteries should not see   
   substantial use -- it will be in continuous sunlight -- and gyros don't   
   necessarily have to have moving parts.  (Remember that Hubble is a 1970s   
   design.)   
      
   >NASA's associate administrator for space science, Ed Weiler, was   
   >considering making the telescope modular and using telemanipulators to   
   >replace its worn-out parts.   
      
   I believe they have explicitly rejected major redesign of the telescope   
   to facilitate robotic servicing.   
      
   Now, that doesn't completely preclude robotic servicing, but it does limit   
   the possibilities, given the primitive state of robotics technology.   
   --   
   "Think outside the box -- the box isn't our friend."    |   Henry Spencer   
                                   -- George Herbert       | henry@spsystems.net   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
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