An article in Sunday’s Orlando Sentinel, a standard description why space has received so little attention in the Presidential campaign to date, does have one interesting tidbit. Jason Furman, Kerry’s economic policy director, suggests that a President Kerry would back some kind of Hubble repair mission:
Kerry is supportive of extending the life of the Hubble Space Telescope… Furman said Kerry definitely would be in favor of servicing the Hubble. Without servicing, the groundbreaking telescope will die in orbit, sometime in late 2007 or 2008.
Of course, NASA is already pursuing a robotic Hubble repair mission, so it’s not clear from the article whether Furman means to say such an effort would continue, or if a President Kerry would restore a shuttle servicing mission.
Wow, strong stance! Continue with a mission that’s already in the works to score big PR points.
That Kerry is a man of conviction and bold vision.