WASHINGTON, DC - Congressman Steny Hoyer released the following statement today applauding the National Academy of Sciences National Research Council recommendation to launch a space shuttle mission to save the Hubble Space Telescope. The Academy's study was conducted at the request of Congressman Hoyer and other members of Congress.
"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 and the importance of taking the appropriate measures to ensure Hubble remains viable. 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.
"I was pleased to help secure $180 million in the fiscal year 2005 Omnibus Appropriations bill for the Hubble Space Telescope. I also worked to include a provision that would prevent the use of these funds to de-orbit Hubble. Further, nearly $300 million will be provided for a servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope."
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.
The National Research Council is a private, nonprofit society of the nation's top scholars created to advise the federal government on science and technology.