The Hubble Space Telescope was hit by space debris. Doesn't that make the telescope a bad long term investment?

No, because its planned lifetime as a NASA supported research instrument is only another 8 years or so, and the likelihood of a crippling impact is rather small. We can use exactly the same argument to claim that we should now abandon space exploration completely because there will eventually be an impact that will puncture a Space Shuttle cabin, or the Space Station. We have badly fouled our nest in space, but so long as there are brave souls willing to take the risk that we armchair astronauts do not wish to, we cannot walk away from space, or its great benefits to research and human advancement. It is also true that the Earth itself will be hit by a catastrophic impact in the next 100,000 years, or perhaps tomorrow. But until then, we carry on.


Copyright 1997 Dr. Sten Odenwald
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