[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 52 (Tuesday, April 26, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4235-S4236]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          FIFTEENTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE

  Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, this week marks the 15th anniversary of 
the launch of the Hubble space telescope. As we watched Hubble lift off 
15 years ago, we had great hopes for the Hubble and great hopes for 
science. Guess what. We were not disappointed.
  Hubble ushered in a new era of astronomy and science. Hubble has 
exceeded all expectations. It is the greatest tool for studying the 
universe since Galileo himself invented the telescope. Because of the 
Hubble, we are now living in what astronomers call the ``golden age'' 
of astronomy and physics. How incredible, how spectacular. It has been 
America's gift to the world. It has been one of the greatest acts of 
public diplomacy in history. Hubble has become a symbol of America's 
generosity of spirit. Whatever the Hubble sees in the world, it 
downloads for the rest of the world to have access. Hubble even has its 
own Web site. It gets e-mails from people all over the world. Some of 
them from the children are the most touching. There are e-mails that 
say: Dear Mr. Hubble, did you see God today? Have you met an angel? Is 
there another universe? What does it look like? They actually talk to 
Hubble, and it has inspired their curiosity and their desire to engage 
in science.
  It is not surprising; just look at what it has accomplished.
  The Hubble telescope has accounted for 35 percent of all of NASA's 
discoveries for the past 30 years. It has seen farther and sharper than 
any telescope in history. It has observed more than 14,000 objects in 
space. It has been the No. 1 producer of science for NASA over the past 
10 years. Over 2,600 scientific papers have been written on the Hubble 
results. It has dramatically improved our understanding of the 
atmosphere of planets; the size of galaxies; the birth, life, and death 
of stars; the existence of black holes; the age of the universe and how 
the universe expands.
  I have a photograph in my office of a swirling galaxy. They call it 
the ``eye of God'' because you literally see those spectacular 
pictures, and you feel in this one picture that God himself is staring 
down at us from the universe.

[[Page S4236]]

  Hubble has rewritten the science textbooks almost every year. It has 
exceeded our wildest expectations. But it didn't start that way. 
Fifteen years ago, I was chairing the subcommittee that finances NASA, 
and we were so excited when Hubble took off. But no sooner was it in 
space when we saw that the Hubble did not work. Something was wrong 
with its mirror. Hubble could not see. I immediately had a hearing and 
said, oh my gosh, Hubble has a cataract. It needs space surgery. It 
needs a space contact lens. Well, I never saw myself as a space 
ophthalmologist, but, quite frankly, working with my dear friend from 
the other side of the aisle, Senator Jake Garn, we took a risk to 
finance the fix for Hubble.
  Well, this country and this world, this big planet, was not 
disappointed. We took the risk because we believed in Hubble's 
potential. We believed in the engineers and the scientists at NASA to 
know how to fix it. We believed in our astronauts, that they could go 
to the Hubble and fix it and return safely to Earth. Thanks to those 
astronauts and engineers, Hubble was saved. We did fix it with a 
contact lens that has lasted now for many years. We have had to go back 
to space and give it new batteries. We have also had to give it new 
gyroscopes so it doesn't vibrate in space. We even improved its lens. 
Each year it gets better and better. From the brink of failure to 
extraordinary success, this has been the story of Hubble.
  Now we are once again going to have to come to the rescue of Hubble. 
Last year, the NASA Administrator announced that he was terminating the 
final servicing mission to give Hubble new batteries and extend its 
life. The Administrator rejected it, saying that the Hubble would shut 
down in 4 years when its battery runs out. The reason he gave was 
astronaut safety. I was troubled by that because astronaut safety has 
been my No. 1 priority as an appropriator for the space program.
  However, I was uncertain about that decision and, like any good 
scientist, I asked for a second opinion. First, I asked Admiral Gehman, 
who had done the study of what went wrong with Columbia, for his 
opinion. He said go to the National Academy of Sciences. I did that, 
and we found a study that concluded that a servicing mission was no 
more risky than going back to the space station.
  Once again, Mr. President, our shuttle is going to start flying 
again, and our hearts and prayers will go with Colonel Collins as she 
takes astronauts back into space and, God willing and with the help of 
our engineers, returns to Earth safely.
  The next mission needs to go up and fix the Hubble. I believe the 
American people want it. We have the will. Now we have to find the 
wallet. President George Bush, with poor advice from the NASA 
Administrator, canceled it out of the budget. I want the President to 
look at those NASA pictures. I want him to know what NASA has meant to 
the world and to America in space. I am going to work with him, on a 
bipartisan basis, to find the money to keep Hubble flying and seeing 
the universe. Who knows, maybe we will meet an angel and make some 
interesting new friends.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.

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