Answered by Robin2868 Wednesday Apr 23rd 2008

In 2003, after the Columbia disaster, NASA's administrator, Sean O'Keefe, decided to scrap future repair missions to the Hubble telescope. This decision caused a great deal of outcry, both among the scientific community and the general public. And with good reason--we owe much of what we know about the universe to the Hubble's pictures.

NASA reconsidered its decision to decommission Hubble, and the last servicing mission to Hubble is now planned for August of 2008. The repairs made on this mission are expected to keep the telescope operational until approximately 2013, when NASA plans to launch a new telescope--the James Webb Space Telescope.