While the 'inside-the-Beltway' controversy and media attention have focused on John Bolton's nomination to be U.N. Ambassador, Michael Griffin's Senate hearing to become NASA Administrator only cleared the way for a noncontroversial confirmation that could have Dr. Griffin at his new desk by next week.
In his prepared statement, Dr. Griffin expressed his strong commitment to space exploration:
The nation is not going to abandon space exploration, human or robotic. Given this, the proper debate in a world of limited resources is over which goals to pursue. I believe that, if money is to be spent on space, there is little doubt that the huge majority of Americans would prefer to spend it on an exciting, outward-focused, destination-oriented program. And that is what the President's Vision for Space Exploration is about.
While his answer to a question provides the latest twist in the continuing Hubble Space Telescope saga:
When asked by another senator to speak about Hubble, Griffin said: "With regard to the value of Hubble, the shortest way to say this is that the Hubble, almost by itself, is the instrument that allowed us as a race of people to understand that it is true that we know nothing about 95% of the universe." With regard to robotic servicing, Griffin said: "Before I was nominated I was chair of review committee for the robotic servicing mission. That committee has designated that the mission is not feasible - in terms of the time, money, and period before Hubble may become unusable. I would like to take the robotic mission off the plate. I think the choice comes down to reinstating a shuttle servicing mission or a simple deorbiting mission. The initial decision was made in the aftermath of the loss of Columbia. When we return to flight it will be essentially a new vehicle, with a new risk analysis associated with it. I think we should reassess the earlier decision in light of what we learn after return to flight.
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