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30 years later with Hubble still in service, I think I definitely would have taken the 3m mirror(which is >50% bigger than a 2.4m mirror). Couple that with the

30 years later with Hubble still in service, I think I definitely would have taken the 3m mirror(which is >50% bigger than a 2.4m mirror). Couple that with the fact that despite all the cost savings, Hubble's mirror was famously flawed for the first 3 years of its life and required special missions and attachments to fix the problem.

khuey 7y ago
That's easy to say in hindsight. It could just as easily have gotten Hubble cancelled.
echelon 7y ago
> I think I definitely would have taken the 3m mirror(which is >50% bigger than a 2.4m mirror) Opportunity cost. That budget might have been passed over, and we might not have gotten Hubble at all. We're lucky we got the discount. Thinking ahead, it's not a bad idea to mix in many smaller budgeted projects, such as the Discovery and New Frontiers programs seek to accomplish.