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How would having the backup in orbit reduce the amount of coverage that an HST-type device could provide? It seems like having another telescope in orbit could
by sjm-lbm 9y ago
How would having the backup in orbit reduce the amount of coverage that an HST-type device could provide?
It seems like having another telescope in orbit could basically be a "hot-spare" for the highest priority tasks while continuing to do lower priory work in the mean time.
- macintux 9y agoBecause it's safer on the ground. If you put everything you have up in the sky, and they all fail for various reasons (solar storm, collision, wear & tear) then you're screwed. Regardless, per another comment it sounds more like a budget problem, so my speculation was crap anyway.
- sjm-lbm 9y agoYeah, I guess I understand that, it just seems like most things that aren't a design failure are unlikely to affect more than one orbiting telescope. In other words, to return to your example, it seems unlikely to me that a collision would happen to more than on telescope ever, let alone in a time window too tight for a third (or fourth, etc) telescope to be built and launched. (and, anyway, it looks like you are right: this is all budgetary anyway, so whatever)