What if you were given a new Hubble telescope for free? How
about two? The astronomical community is abuzz with just this
opportunity as the US National Reconnaissance Office has
unexpectedly transferred ownership of two space-qualified
Hubble-quality telescopes to NASA. The usefulness of these
telescopes in addressing existing science priorities has begun,
but preliminary indications hold that even one of these
telescope could be extremely in searching for extrasolar planets
as well as distant galaxies and supernovas that could better
explore the nature of dark energy. Although they start out as
free, making even one telescope and fitting it with useful
cameras would be quite expensive, so NASA is being decidedly
careful about how to fit these new telescopes into its existing
budget. Pictured above, the original Hubble Space Telescope
floats high above the Earth during a servicing mission in 2002.