IV
108TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION 

H. RES. 550

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives relating to the 
extraordinary contributions resulting from the Hubble Space Telescope to 
scientific research and education, and to the need to reconsider future service 
missions to the Hubble Space Telescope.



IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 3, 2004
Mr. UDALL of Colorado (for himself, Mr. BARTLETT of Maryland, Mr. GORDON,
Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. HOYER, Mr. AKIN, Mr. LAMPSON, and Mr.
RUPPERSBERGER) submitted the following resolution; which was referred
to the Committee on Science

RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives relating
to the extraordinary contributions resulting from the
Hubble Space Telescope to scientific research and education,
and to the need to reconsider future service missions
to the Hubble Space Telescope.

Whereas discoveries from the Hubble Space Telescope have
dominated space science news over the last 10 years;

Whereas the Hubble Space Telescope has provided proof of
black holes, insights into the birth and death of stars,
spectacular views of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9’s collision
with Jupiter, the age of the Universe, and evidence that
the expansion of the Universe is accelerating;

Whereas the inspiring scientific discoveries from the Hubble
Space Telescope reach millions of students each year and
have been important in encouraging students to study the
sciences;

Whereas installation of new instruments in 1997 and 2002
improved Hubble’s observational capabilities by a factor
of 10;

Whereas the 2000 National Academy of Sciences Decadal
Survey endorsed a plan to maintain the Hubble Space
Telescope until 2010;

Whereas the Hubble Space Telescope has been the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration’s most scientifically
productive mission, accounting for 35 percent of all
National Aeronautics and Space Administration discoveries
in the last 20 years;

Whereas the demand for research time on the Hubble Space
Telescope in 2003 was approximately 8 times that available;

Whereas approximately $200,000,000 worth of instruments
have largely been built, including scientific instruments
that would provide significant improvements in Hubble’s
scientific power and including replacement gyroscopes
and batteries, which could keep the telescope in operation
until 2011 or 2012 and make the Hubble Space Telescope’s
final years its most scientifically capable and productive;

Whereas the distinguished panel that studied scientific priorities
for ultraviolet and optical astronomy in 2003 considered
the continued operation of the Hubble Space Telescope
by means of the SM-4 servicing mission to be its
highest priority; and

Whereas the American Astronomical Society, the largest professional
scientific association for astronomers and astrophysicists,
believes a panel of experts should review the
decision to limit prematurely the lifespan of the Hubble
Space Telescope: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the House of Representatives:

(1) recognizes the extraordinary contributions 
resulting from the Hubble Space Telescope to sci- 
entific research and education; 

(2) strongly recommends that the Adminis- 
trator of the National Aeronautics and Space Ad- 
ministration appoint an independent panel of expert 
scientists and engineers inside and outside of the 
National Aeronautics and Space Administration to 
examine all possible options for safely carrying out 
the planned servicing mission to the Hubble Space 
Telescope; and 

(3) expresses its strong sentiment that the Na- 
tional Aeronautics and Space Administration should 
continue all planning, preparation, and astronaut 
training activities for the SM-4 servicing mission 
without interruption until the expert panel issues its 
report and until the National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration provides a timetable of compliance 
with recommendation R6.4-1 of the Columbia Acci- 
dent Investigation Board report, which calls for "a 
fully autonomous capability for all missions to ad-
dress the possibility that an International Space Sta- 
tion mission fails to achieve the correct orbit, fails 
to dock successfully, or is damaged during or after 
undocking’’, since National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration compliance with the recommendation 
will allow both a Hubble servicing mission and mis- 
sions to the International Space Station to be car- 
ried out safely. 


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