[APML] FW: AAS Informational Email 2004-1

["Greg Hartke" <ghartke@adelphia.net>]

For those interested, the American Astronomical Society is actively working
on the Hubble issue. I received this bulletin today. FWIW, I have friends at
STScI so if I hear anything interesting I'll be sure to pass it along.

Greg Hartke
Sykesville, MD


-----Original Message-----
From: AAS Email Exploder Account [mailto:aasmail@aas.org]
Sent: Monday, January 26, 2004 12:10 PM
To: aasmembers@aas.org
Subject: AAS Informational Email 2004-1

AAS Informational Email 2004-1

Summary

The AAS has endorsed a call by Senator Barbara Mikulski
to review the decision by NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe
to cancel future shuttle servicing missions.  The statement
and an explanation of the Society's action on this matter
from AAS president Caty Pilachowski follows.

Background

On Friday, January 16, 2004 NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe
announced that he had decided to cancel future servicing
missions to the Hubble Space Telescope.  He made this
decision based on the integrated risk in undertaking
servicing missions under the shuttle safety constraints
imposed by the Columbia Accident Investigation Board.

The AAS Committee on Astronomy and Public Policy (CAPP)
immediately began discussions on possible responses from
the Society.  CAPP met by telecon on Tuesday, January 20,
and decided to forward a policy statement to the AAS
Executive Committee for approval.

On Wednesday, January 21, Senator Barbara Mikulski sent
a letter to Administrator O'Keefe asking that he convene
an independent panel to review the cancellation decision.

The following day, the AAS Council met by phone
conference to discuss the situation.  The consensus of
the Council was to issue a statement and the final wording
was left to the Executive Committee, who must vote to
take action between normally scheduled Council meetings.
The members of the Executive committee completed voting
during the evening hours of January 22 and a press
release was submitted to the standard wire services
announcing the statement.

The text of the press release and the statement are given
below.  The statement has been posted on the AAS web page at

http://www.aas.org/governance/council/resolutions.html

and further information will be posted at the link below
when it becomes available.

http://www.aas.org/policy/HubbleServicingCancellation.html

Caty Pilachowski, President, American Astronomical Society


PRESS RELEASE - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 22, 2004

Contacts:
Dr. Catherine A. Pilachowski, President,
American Astronomical Society,
(812) 855-6913, catyp@astro.indiana.edu;
Dr. Sidney Wolff, Chair, American Astronomical
Society Committee on Astronomy and Public Policy,
(520) 318-8511, swolff@noao.edu or;
Dr. Kevin B. Marvel, Deputy Executive Officer,
(202) 328-2010x114 or
(703) 589-7503, marvel@aas.org

American Astronomical Society Supports Congressional
Call for Review of Hubble Servicing Mission Cancellation

In a statement released today, the American Astronomical
Society, the largest professional scientific association
for astronomers and astrophysicists, has endorsed the
congressional call for a review of the decision to cancel
future Hubble Space Telescope servicing missions.

The president of the American Astronomical Society,
Dr. Catherine A. Pilachowski of Indiana University said:
"Astronaut safety is always a prime consideration for
any space mission, but the Hubble space telescope is the
most productive telescope of all time and a clear
source of national pride.   We must carefully weigh all
possible solutions to servicing the Hubble while implementing
the recommendations of the Columbia Accident Investigation
Board regarding shuttle safety."

Dr. Sidney Wolff, the chair of the society's Committee
on Astronomy and Public Policy and former director of
the National Optical Astronomy Observatory agreed,
saying "As astronomers, we are not experts on safety,
but we do know that Hubble plays an absolutely vital
role in our field.  The congressional call for a review
of the decision to cancel future servicing missions will
allow the public to understand the decision process and
possibly provide a forum for creative alternatives to
be discussed."

The AAS statement, adopted today, is given below
in its entirety.

American Astronomical Society Statement on the Cancellation
of Future Hubble Space Telescope Servicing Missions

The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) has inspired a generation
of Americans with its scientific achievements.  Since its
launch in 1990, HST has explored the Universe, ranging from
our own solar system to the most distant galaxies.

In the eyes of the public as well as in the judgment of
professional astronomers, both nationally and internationally,
HST represents the finest of the countless contributions the

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is
making to science.

While the American Astronomical Society places paramount
importance on astronaut safety, the astronomy community
deeply regrets the cancellation of future servicing missions

at a time when HST continues to make fundamental discoveries

at an undiminished rate.

Thus, the AAS supports the congressional call for an
independent panel of outside experts to review the decision
to limit prematurely the lifespan of the Hubble Space
Telescope. Such a decision must consider all possible
options for accomplishing the servicing mission and must also be
widely understood. We hope that such a review panel can be
convened in a timely manner and its work completed quickly.

We urge that any process to reconsider the decision to
cancel Servicing Mission 4 include as one of the
considerations the future scientific contributions afforded
by HST.  These are outlined in part by the HST-JWST
Transition Panel Report.

We further note that sustained HST operations are essential
to reap the full benefits of NASA's other Great Observatories
in space, the Chandra X-ray Telescope, launched in 1999, and

the Spitzer Infrared Telescope, launched just a few months ago.
Only if HST operates at full capability through 2009 do we
have the opportunity to take advantage of the scientific
synergy of these three Great Observatories, examining
astronomical sources across the electromagnetic spectrum in
X-ray, visual, ultraviolet and infrared light.

The Hubble Space Telescope is an international treasure that

has inspired the people of America and the world for nearly
15 years.  Its impact, not only on science, but on the dreams
and imagination of our young people, cannot be overstated.



[Mailed to members from aas.org at 12:15pm, 26 JANUARY 2004]

To read previous AAS Informational Emails visit
http://www.aas.org/policy/InformationalEmails.html
To read previous AAS Action Alerts visit
http://www.aas.org/policy/ActionAlerts.html
Comments, questions and complaints to:
mailto:marvel@aas.org







_______________________________________________
Astro-Photo mailing list
Astro-Photo@seds.org
http://seds.org/mailman/listinfo/astro-photo