NU128479@NDSUVM1.BITNET (02/16/91)
I was unable to reply directly to Tom Comeau in his response to my followup comments so the following is intended for him or anyone wondering what I was talking about. I admit I was a little harsh in my response but I am just frustrated that the HST is now and might forever do only a fraction of what it was designed to accomplish or discover. "All those things" that are also wrong with the HST (Exc. the mirror) include several minor (your right) things. However, these "minor" mistakes could major consequenses to the HST, since the defective mirror, in my opinion, was caused by a couple of minor oversights or mistakes. A few other things that I read about (please keep in mind that it has been several months since I have read these articles so I might not be very accurate) are: 1) When the HST was unfolding after it was released from the shuttle, it apparently broke or damaged an antenna (sic?). This was do to defective or poor engineering on the part of NASA. 2) One of the cameras that align the HST to its' reference stars had a round camera lens and the rest had square lens (or was it the other way around?) This was not known by NASA until they starting receiving pictures back. Apparently, a memo by a company hired by NASA was sent to NASA explaining the odd camera. NASA lost the letter (memo) and software was not adjusted prior to the shuttle launch that carried the HST. 3) Numerous problems about software glitches or overlooks were reported. NASA reported sending new software to the HST on several occasions. These are some things I can remember and I'm sure their are more. These were minor problems that were overcome by NASA, but they made a mistake (mirror) that now can not be easily fixed. But since the HST is so complex a couple things might go wrong but they should not be hardware engineering defects. Your press comments about "Crippled Telescope Produces Stunning Pictures" and how the press crisizes the HST when the HST is better than any other telescope we have is interesting. I am in fact surprised that the HST can provide these pictures, and a little delighted. But this does not make me want to praise NASA or the HST because these pictures are nothing compared to what we could have. The press crisizes everything it possibly can. We should remind the press that their only job is to deliver the news in an non-partial way and not to make or alter the news. Steve Harter.