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-Good morning and welcome
to NASA's Goddard Space

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Flight Senator, uh Center,
Greenbelt, Maryland.

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[ Laughter ]

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The purpose of today's
press conference is to present

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and explain the first images
from the Hubble Space Telescope

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following last month's
servicing mission.

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We are pleased to have with us
today, from my immediate left,

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Mr. Peter Burr,

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Deputy Director of the Goddard
Space Flight Center,

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Dr. John H. Gibbons,
Assistant to the President

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for Science and Technology,

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Mr. Daniel S. Goldin,
NASA administrator,

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and Senator Barbara Mikulski,

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Chair of the Senate
Appropriations Subcommittee

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on VA, HUD,
and Independent Agencies.

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Following remarks
from these officials,

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they will be able
to take a few questions.

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We will then take a short break

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and then hear
from two more panels.

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One will provide
a Hubble science overview,

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and the other
as spacecraft overview.

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There will be ample
opportunity for questions

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after each of those panels.

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Mr. Burr?

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-Thank you. Thank you, Geoff.

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It's very much of a pleasure
for me to be here today with you

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and to share some of
the things we're going to see.

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I would just like to make
a couple of comments.

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One, I think
the servicing mission,

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the Hubble servicing mission,
to me at least,

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clearly demonstrated that NASA
is going to meet its promises.

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Secondly, I'd like to say
and, I think,

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recognize the outstanding
teamwork and cooperation

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we had in order
to accomplish this mission,

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and that teamwork
was throughout the agency,

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with our scientific community,
with our contractors,

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and with the European
Space Agency.

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And, again, I think that
teamwork demonstrates

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what we're capable of here.

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And with that I'd like to take
great pleasure to introduce

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the NASA Administrator,
Mr. Dan Goldin.

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Thank you.
-Thank you Peter.

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Deep in the Antarctic,
at a place called Hunt Point,

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there's a cross erected
to the memory

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of Captain Robert Falcon Scott

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and the men of his
lost expedition in 1912.

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Inscribed on the cross is a line
from Tennyson's "Ulysses."

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And it reads,

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"To strive, to seek,

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to find, and not to yield."

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I would suggest that
Tennyson's line

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could also be
an appropriate motto

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for the outstanding team

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that gave us this
magnificent achievement

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we are here to talk about today.

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Like other explorers in history,

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the hundreds of people
involved in the repair

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of the Hubble Space Telescope

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have followed a dream
we all follow.

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They have aimed for distant
horizons and great achievements.

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They have faced adversity.

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They have had to deal with
both success and with failure,

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and like other great
explorers of our past,

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they did not yield to adversity

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They persevered
and, in the end,

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they achieved
something wonderful

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for the people of planet Earth.

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The repaired Hubble
Space Telescope

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as we are about to
show you this morning

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is a testament to their skill
and their determination,

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and I am very, very proud
of this team of people

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who came together
from all over the world

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to achieve the success
we celebrate today.

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The wonders we will
show you today

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and the new discoveries
we anticipate in the future

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are examples of exploration
at its best,

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examples of the human mind
at its best,

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examples of human
determination at its best,

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and they are examples
of what a dedicated people

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can do on this vast
new frontier we call space.

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Through the corrected
optics of Hubble,

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we will continue
to explore the unknown.

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We will continue to expand our
understanding of the universe

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and our knowledge
of the distant past.

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It is a worthwhile
and worthy goal,

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the kind of exploration
that great nations

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have always undertaken
throughout history.

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But before great nations

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can undertake these kinds
of adventures,

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they must have leaders
with the insight

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and understanding to know
that science and discovery,

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in the end,
have a payoff for society.

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And that is why I'm very
pleased today

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to introduce two
of our nation's leaders.

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As President Clinton's science
advisor, Dr. Jack Gibbons

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has been given
unprecedented authority

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to promote science
and technology policy

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at the highest levels
of government.

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Much of the success that we have
enjoyed in the last year

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is directly attributed
to that support

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and that willingness
to invest our country's

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heightened-technology future.

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So it is with great pleasure
that I introduce a scientist,

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a technologist, a visionary,
and a wonderful human being,

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my, friend Dr. Jack Gibbons.

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-Thank you, Dan.

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Senator Mikulski,
I am absolutely delighted

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to share this moment with you,

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this meeting to hear
the results of NASA's work,

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work to transform an astigmatic
and faltering instrument

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into a telescope with
the kind of eagle's vision

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that was originally
intended for this project.

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As you will find out,
it is going to enable us

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to push back the unknown

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and provide all peoples
with an unprecedented capability

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to understand the outer universe

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and enrich our spirits
as well as our lives,

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but our celebration, today,
I think is more than that.

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The event, to me,

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symbolizes the Clinton-Gore
administration's intent

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to revitalize American science,

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engineering and technology
as a fundamental way

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to help us achieve
our national aspirations.

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It also reflects our
commitment to a government

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that is more efficient,
more effective,

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better stewards of
the public resources

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with which we are entrusted,

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and therefore my profound
compliments to Dan Goldin

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and the many people in NASA

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and those who work with NASA
in this achievement,

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in this ongoing
reinvention of NASA,

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and I think it was epitomized
by Joe Rothenberg's leadership

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in bringing this exacting
shuttle repair mission

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in precisely on time
and on budget.

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I wish we could say the same for
the rest of public enterprises.

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And, finally, on behalf
of the administration,

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I'd like to express appreciation

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for Senator Mikulski's work

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and her stalwart and effective
service in the Senate

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and her commitment
to U.S. leadership

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in science and technology.

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It's been absolutely
outstanding and essential

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for our nation's future.

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Thank you.

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-Thank you, Dr. Gibbons.

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Our other honored guest
this morning is a person

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who has been uniquely able
to articulate the need

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for this kind of explanation
in our society today.

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Over and over again,
she has demonstrated the skill

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and the courage to fight
for these kinds of projects

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that expand our
intellectual universe,

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and through these
achievements we human beings

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have been able to see
our lives in a much bigger

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and a much richer context.

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Senator Mikulski cares about
the future of our country,

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about our children.

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She cares about the role
that technology plays

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in generating
high-quality jobs,

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and, most of all,
she cares about excellence,

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on an organizational level
and a personal level,

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she always pushes us
to do better and to deliver.

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So it is with tremendous
pleasure and pride

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that I introduce to you Senator
Barbara Mikulski of Maryland,

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Chair of the Senate
Appropriations Committee

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on VA, HUD,
and Independent Agencies.

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-Thank you very much, Dan.

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And certainly NASA is very much
an independent agency.

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It's been independent.

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It has been entrepreneurial,

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and today I'm happy
to announce its success.

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I chair the subcommittee
that financed the manufacture

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of the most
significant contact lens

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in American history --

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the fix on the
Hubble Space Telescope

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and then bankrolled

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this extraordinary
space HMO

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that went out and gave Hubble
Telescope a new contact lens,

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and I'm happy
to announce today that,

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after its launch,
now, in 1990,

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some of its earlier
disappointments,

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the trouble with Hubble is over.

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We have here a picture taken
of the image of a star

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with the new
Faint Object Camera.

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Here we have the picture
taken prior

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to the servicing mission
without the COSTAR.

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Over here on my left
is the new picture

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taken of the same star
configuration after COSTAR.

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You can see the enormous
optical difference,

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the high-definition resolution,

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the ability to really see
deeply into space

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and to see it with precision

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and clarity of history-making
technical ability,

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and this is only
the beginning.

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This just shows
what COSTAR can do,

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and Mr. Goldin I'm going
to ask you to hold that

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because there's more to come.

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[ Laughter ]

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We have the Wide Field
and Planetary Camera.

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And this is the picture
taken of a galaxy prior,

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in Hubble One.

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It looks like the way
you would look at a road map,

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New Year's Eve.

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[ Laughter ]

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Over here is the picture taken
after the servicing mission,

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and this is what the new 1994

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Wide Field/Planetary

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picture will show us.

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This is the picture, again,
of the same galaxy,

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and then here is the picture
taken of the same galaxy

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through the new

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Wide Field/Planetary camera

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that was installed by our
gallant and brave astronauts.

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The pictures are remarkable.

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The science that will come
from the pictures

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are of historical significance.

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We will now,
because of the Hubble fix,

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be able to do
21st-century science

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that will enable us
to look back on the universe.

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This was done because
of three key elements.

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It was based on teamwork,

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training, and extraordinary
technical competency

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that all came together
to fix Hubble.

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In April of 1994,
when Hubble launched,

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the world waited
with great anticipation

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for Hubble's pictures.

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We know that Hubble came back
with some blurred images.

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We held congressional hearings
and worked with NASA

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to come up with the fix,

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and we knew that the fix
really was important

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to be able to restore confidence
in this space agency's ability

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to deliver on time and online

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to really fulfill
both its promise

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and, well, its expectation.

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I believe these pictures
are tangible evidence

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that not only has
Hubble been fixed

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but NASA is well on its way
to fix that culture

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that created some
of these problems.

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So we are very pleased
about this,

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and we're very pleased
with the teamwork,

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the enormous training and
the technical competence

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that went into this.

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This was a high-stakes
repair for Hubble.

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We didn't even have to
undertake it

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because the science
was already important.

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We were already doing science
that never had been done

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and never could've been
done without Hubble,

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but being the
United States of America

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and being the derring-do
of the national space agency,

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we wanted to correct Hubble

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and restore it to its
scientific capability

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and its full scientific
expectations,

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and we did that because
1.200 people worked as a team.

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both in the United States
and around the world.

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Space centers came together --

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Goddard, Houston,
Cape Canaveral.

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The Space Institute
at Johns Hopkins

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was the one that
narrowed the options

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to those that were specific,
fiscally achievable,

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and technically
able to deliver.

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We were happy that they
were able to do that.

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The training that went into this

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was the most
extraordinary training

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that has ever been done
for a space mission,

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but now we know that NASA
has the right stuff to do it,

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and we know what it takes
to be able to operationalize

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our good intentions,

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and not at all least
is the very important

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testing and technical
competence.

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This mirror and Wide
Field/Planetary Camera

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was tested, tested again,

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and then once it was tested
was tested one more time.

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We knew that when NASA
was ready to launch

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that the equipment was ready
and that it would work.

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The result of this hard work
is shown in these pictures,

00:15:14.701.00:15:17.167
but we then, now,
see what it will mean.

00:15:17.167.00:15:19.334
There will be others
who will talk later

00:15:19.334.00:15:22.434
about the scientific
achievements,

00:15:22.434.00:15:26.133
the technical competency,
but as a United States Senator,

00:15:26.133.00:15:30.267
that marshals the forces
for the continued support

00:15:30.267.00:15:32.868
of the American space program,

00:15:32.868.00:15:36.300
to be able to say the trouble
with Hubble is over,

00:15:36.300.00:15:39.334
the fact that NASA
is now showing that,

00:15:39.334.00:15:40.734
with the right stuff,

00:15:40.734.00:15:42.467
it is on the right track,

00:15:42.467.00:15:45.734
I believe it is a significant
scientific achievement,

00:15:45.734.00:15:50.133
and it is also an achievement
to restore NASA's capability

00:15:50.133.00:15:54.000
to be an agency
that will be a 21st century,

00:15:54.000.00:15:55.434
and we congratulate you

00:15:55.434.00:15:57.734
on taking the first steps
to reinvent it.

00:15:57.734.00:16:00.300
Thank you very much.

00:16:04.200.00:16:06.100
-Before we conclude,

00:16:06.100.00:16:08.868
I'd like to give some
quantitative numbers in addition

00:16:08.868.00:16:10.300
to the pictures to give you

00:16:10.300.00:16:14.000
a sense of this
magnificent technological

00:16:14.000.00:16:17.567
and scientific achievement.

00:16:17.567.00:16:21.501
With the Faint Object Camera,
we had a specification

00:16:21.501.00:16:25.534
to collect 60 percent
of the energy.

00:16:25.534.00:16:26.734
When Hubble was first launched,

00:16:26.734.00:16:29.968
we only collected
12 percent of the energy.

00:16:29.968.00:16:34.868
Our wildest dream
was to get 70 percent.

00:16:34.868.00:16:38.634
The theoretical limit
was 85 percent,

00:16:38.634.00:16:42.767
and we know we've exceeded
the 70 percent wildest dream,

00:16:42.767.00:16:44.400
and the scientists
in the days ahead

00:16:44.400.00:16:46.133
will be able to narrow it down

00:16:46.133.00:16:49.067
and tell you how close
to theory we came.

00:16:49.067.00:16:53.901
This is a long way forward,
and it took the brilliance

00:16:53.901.00:16:55.567
and the courage of people

00:16:55.567.00:16:57.868
who weren't afraid
to take the risk,

00:16:57.868.00:17:01.100
who weren't afraid that
failure might stop them.

00:17:01.100.00:17:04.167
So with that, let's celebrate
the wonderful people

00:17:04.167.00:17:06.667
that made this happen.

00:17:09.501.00:17:11.033
-Thank you.

00:17:11.033.00:17:15.100
We'll now take a few questions
from the press here at Goddard.

00:17:15.100.00:17:19.300
I want to remind you that there
will be panels of Hubble program

00:17:19.300.00:17:24.033
and project officials
later this morning.

00:17:24.033.00:17:27.067
Please wait for the microphone

00:17:27.067.00:17:30.601
and give your name
and affiliation.

00:17:30.601.00:17:32.968
Harry?
-Harry Rosenfeld,

00:17:32.968.00:17:36.100
the Associated Press
for Mr. Goldin, please.

00:17:36.100.00:17:39.234
Mr. Goldin, can you say
now unequivocally

00:17:39.234.00:17:43.968
that the Hubble is fixed,
100 percent operative and fixed?

00:17:43.968.00:17:46.300
-We believe the Hubble
is fixed, yes, sir.

00:17:49.901.00:17:51.701
-Bill?
-Bill Harwood, CBS,

00:17:51.701.00:17:53.801
Senator, a lot was made
of this flight before launch,

00:17:53.801.00:17:56.501
as everything is riding
on the ability to fix Hubble

00:17:56.501.00:17:58.701
and NASA's reputation,
et cetera, et cetera.

00:17:58.701.00:18:00.267
You've sort of addressed that.

00:18:00.267.00:18:03.334
Do you think that the success
in fixing Hubble will, in fact,

00:18:03.334.00:18:07.400
translate into any maybe reduced
skepticism in Congress

00:18:07.400.00:18:08.667
or increased support,

00:18:08.667.00:18:10.400
however you want
to approach that.

00:18:10.400.00:18:15.601
-I think it is a major step
in restoring confidence in NASA

00:18:15.601.00:18:18.534
because NASA said
what it could do,

00:18:18.534.00:18:20.601
said how much it would cost,

00:18:20.601.00:18:23.067
how much it would take,

00:18:23.067.00:18:27.133
and then delivered
exactly as it promised.

00:18:27.133.00:18:29.767
One of the previous
problems with NASA

00:18:29.767.00:18:32.934
was the overpromising
of what it could deliver

00:18:32.934.00:18:35.501
and underestimating
both obstacles

00:18:35.501.00:18:37.167
and the financial cost.

00:18:37.167.00:18:41.567
This way we had the right
estimates and it was done right,

00:18:41.567.00:18:43.300
as promised.

00:18:43.300.00:18:46.434
-Third row, John Holliman,
then Jim.

00:18:46.434.00:18:48.701
-John Holliman from CNN,
for Mr. Goldin.

00:18:48.701.00:18:50.133
I want to ask you
the same question that Bill

00:18:50.133.00:18:51.267
just asked the senator,

00:18:51.267.00:18:53.267
what does this do
for NASA's image,

00:18:53.267.00:18:55.300
its ability to get things done,

00:18:55.300.00:19:00.100
not necessarily in space but in
Congress and at the White House?

00:19:00.100.00:19:04.501
-I think that what this does
is it solidifies

00:19:04.501.00:19:06.767
that we are a can-do agency.

00:19:06.767.00:19:08.534
We do very difficult things.

00:19:08.534.00:19:11.567
This mission is one of the most
difficult missions

00:19:11.567.00:19:13.167
we ever undertook

00:19:13.167.00:19:14.501
since the Apollo program

00:19:14.501.00:19:16.767
and, in fact, John Young,

00:19:16.767.00:19:19.467
a man who walked on the moon,
is with us today,

00:19:19.467.00:19:22.901
and he has seen that
in his lifetime,

00:19:22.901.00:19:24.367
but it also says

00:19:24.367.00:19:26.934
that we're going to continue
to do very difficult things.

00:19:26.934.00:19:29.934
We are not going to be
afraid to reach out.

00:19:29.934.00:19:33.501
We want to send a message to the
young people of this country.

00:19:33.501.00:19:35.367
We are a bold country.

00:19:35.367.00:19:39.200
We are as bold today as we were
when settled the West.

00:19:39.200.00:19:42.567
So we will do tough things,
we'll plan it right,

00:19:42.567.00:19:44.200
and we'll have many successes,

00:19:44.200.00:19:46.601
but we will also have
failures along the way,

00:19:46.601.00:19:48.734
but we're not afraid of it.

00:19:48.734.00:19:50.834
-Jim.
-Jim Slade, ABC,

00:19:50.834.00:19:53.934
I'd like to get the same point
of view from the White House.

00:19:53.934.00:19:56.234
Dr. Gibbons, how about
you chiming in there?

00:19:58.434.00:20:01.534
-I think it will be interesting
for the American people

00:20:01.534.00:20:03.634
to come to understand
in the coming days

00:20:03.634.00:20:08.300
how challenging this process
was that NASA undertook

00:20:08.300.00:20:13.067
and how extraordinarily well
they carried out that challenge.

00:20:13.067.00:20:17.334
As the senator pointed out,
this is, and also as Mr. Goldin,

00:20:17.334.00:20:19.167
this is probably one of
the most difficult things

00:20:19.167.00:20:21.100
that NASA has tried
to undertake.

00:20:21.100.00:20:25.534
It is absolutely exacting,
there is no question,

00:20:25.534.00:20:29.367
but what the outcome as
evidenced by these photographs

00:20:29.367.00:20:31.701
say that they totally
fulfilled their mission,

00:20:31.701.00:20:33.968
and they did it on time
and on budget,

00:20:33.968.00:20:37.467
which I think is a superb
example of the new kind of NASA

00:20:37.467.00:20:40.634
that's being reinvented
by these people.

00:20:40.634.00:20:44.133
-Jim?
-For Mr. Gibbons,

00:20:44.133.00:20:45.701
has this mission changed

00:20:45.701.00:20:48.267
President Clinton's view
of the space agency?

00:20:48.267.00:20:50.868
It's always been something
of a mystery to us,

00:20:50.868.00:20:54.868
who cover space regularly,
just where he stands on this.

00:20:54.868.00:20:56.734
-Well, it's tough for me
to speak for the President,

00:20:56.734.00:21:00.901
since I'm not sure if he's even
heard of these results yet,

00:21:00.901.00:21:03.734
but I know that he will be
immensely pleased and that,

00:21:03.734.00:21:08.634
in fact, he has made commitments
to NASA, both to the station,

00:21:08.634.00:21:10.801
to the internationalization

00:21:10.801.00:21:13.701
of the big science
and technology of NASA

00:21:13.701.00:21:17.534
and stood squarely behind
this repair mission.

00:21:17.534.00:21:19.567
I know that he will be
delighted.

00:21:19.567.00:21:21.667
I have spoken with
the Vice President about it.

00:21:21.667.00:21:24.300
He is absolutely delighted
at the outcome,

00:21:24.300.00:21:26.400
and I'm sure this will,

00:21:26.400.00:21:28.701
if anything,
underscore the support

00:21:28.701.00:21:31.901
that the administration
gives to this kind of

00:21:31.901.00:21:35.968
can-do science
and technology leadership

00:21:35.968.00:21:38.234
as evidenced by NASA's work.

00:21:38.234.00:21:40.801
-Dan.
-Yeah, Dan Billow,

00:21:40.801.00:21:43.367
WESH TV for Mr. Goldin.

00:21:43.367.00:21:46.767
Just to elaborate a little bit
on something you

00:21:46.767.00:21:48.267
alluded to earlier,

00:21:48.267.00:21:50.133
and I know we'll hear from
others later, but you're saying,

00:21:50.133.00:21:54.367
then, that this repair servicing
mission did exceed expectations.

00:21:54.367.00:21:57.334
The telescope works
better than you hoped.

00:21:57.334.00:21:58.834
-Yes.

00:21:58.834.00:22:04.868
It's exceeding the specification
on the Faint Object Camera,

00:22:04.868.00:22:07.634
and it's not only
exceeding specification,

00:22:07.634.00:22:09.701
it's exceeding
what our goal was,

00:22:09.701.00:22:11.934
which was better
than specification.

00:22:11.934.00:22:16.567
Now I caution to say, we have
years of testing ahead of us,

00:22:16.567.00:22:18.367
and we talked to the scientists

00:22:18.367.00:22:19.801
just before this
press conference

00:22:19.801.00:22:21.567
about all the possible

00:22:21.567.00:22:23.934
scientific discoveries
they'll have.

00:22:23.934.00:22:27.400
You cannot predict the outcome
of science until you do it,

00:22:27.400.00:22:30.100
but in terms of an instrument,
a spacecraft,

00:22:30.100.00:22:33.234
it is operating beyond
our expectations.

00:22:33.234.00:22:38.167
-Let's go over here to Kathy,
mic is coming around,

00:22:38.167.00:22:41.334
Kathy,
right here in the third row.

00:22:44.601.00:22:47.033
-Kathy Sawyer with
the Washington Post,

00:22:47.033.00:22:48.767
for Dr. Gibbons.

00:22:48.767.00:22:50.734
This was
an extraordinary mission

00:22:50.734.00:22:54.567
and took extraordinary
resources,

00:22:54.567.00:22:55.968
training, and teamwork,

00:22:55.968.00:22:59.234
which some people
express skepticism

00:22:59.234.00:23:02.300
will be repeated
in future efforts,

00:23:02.300.00:23:06.834
and furthermore, there are no
more big extravaganza missions

00:23:06.834.00:23:11.400
on the immediate horizon to
equal the Hubble repair mission.

00:23:11.400.00:23:16.334
Will the White House be able
to sustain support and momentum

00:23:16.334.00:23:18.300
for the space program?

00:23:18.300.00:23:19.934
Will the commitment continue

00:23:19.934.00:23:22.968
if there's no more
similar excitement

00:23:22.968.00:23:26.567
and if there are,
as Mr. Goldin says,

00:23:26.567.00:23:28.634
in the future there
will be more failures?

00:23:31.767.00:23:38.567
-Well, you can't take risks
without the chance of failure,

00:23:38.567.00:23:41.234
and that's the very nature
of research itself,

00:23:41.234.00:23:43.734
and we must expect setbacks
from time to time.

00:23:43.734.00:23:47.367
We've gone through some setbacks
with respect to Hubble,

00:23:47.367.00:23:49.501
and what has been
shown in this event

00:23:49.501.00:23:54.133
is that one can overcome
those setbacks and move ahead.

00:23:54.133.00:23:59.067
I have every expectation that
the continued success of Hubble

00:23:59.067.00:24:00.968
and the other missions
that are coming,

00:24:00.968.00:24:02.667
for instance,
the Cassini mission,

00:24:02.667.00:24:06.100
which is an
international venture

00:24:06.100.00:24:09.300
will provide a stream
of evidence

00:24:09.300.00:24:13.767
that this investment in pushing
back the frontiers of ignorance

00:24:13.767.00:24:15.701
about the universe we live in

00:24:15.701.00:24:17.801
is going to provide
the kind of reward

00:24:17.801.00:24:21.367
to people's investments
that they expect,

00:24:21.367.00:24:23.734
namely to have
their vision enlarged

00:24:23.734.00:24:25.467
and to have, as a side stream,

00:24:25.467.00:24:27.334
the kinds of technology benefits

00:24:27.334.00:24:30.000
that flow from
this kind of work.

00:24:30.000.00:24:34.567
-Kathy, if I could also add
a congressional viewpoint here.

00:24:34.567.00:24:39.167
The repair of the Hubble
is a benchmark, I believe,

00:24:39.167.00:24:40.968
in the mind of Congress

00:24:40.968.00:24:43.968
because of
the astronauts' ability

00:24:43.968.00:24:45.834
to show what
they can do in space

00:24:45.834.00:24:49.300
for the complicated task
of repair of Hubble.

00:24:49.300.00:24:51.667
Had they not been
able to do that,

00:24:51.667.00:24:53.868
Congress would not have believed

00:24:53.868.00:24:58.334
that they could build
the space station in space,

00:24:58.334.00:25:00.968
therefore because of the work

00:25:00.968.00:25:04.567
that was done in
the repair of Hubble,

00:25:04.567.00:25:10.701
there is now a confidence that
the space station can be built,

00:25:10.701.00:25:14.033
but that, yes, it will take
extraordinary resources

00:25:14.033.00:25:17.934
that we therefore have to know
truly what we're getting into,

00:25:17.934.00:25:21.534
but there will be
the technical competency

00:25:21.534.00:25:25.033
and the astronaut
capability to do that.

00:25:25.033.00:25:26.501
That is benchmark.

00:25:26.501.00:25:29.100
That's not funding
an emotional rush.

00:25:29.100.00:25:32.801
We don't fund the space program
on the kind of rush

00:25:32.801.00:25:37.667
we're going to have pulsating
through the veins of the OMB,

00:25:37.667.00:25:41.067
of operators and appropriators,

00:25:41.067.00:25:43.567
and, in fact, I hope
that they can see through

00:25:43.567.00:25:45.601
their green eye shades
with the clarity now

00:25:45.601.00:25:49.434
that we can look through
the Hubble Space Telescope,

00:25:49.434.00:25:52.968
but it is a benchmark
accomplishment

00:25:52.968.00:25:54.300
that we can now refer

00:25:54.300.00:25:56.667
to in terms of the ability

00:25:56.667.00:26:00.634
to actually do the space
station as being proposed.

00:26:00.634.00:26:02.667
-We're going to --
-I'd like to...

00:26:02.667.00:26:06.467
she asked a very good question,
I'd like to deal with that too.

00:26:06.467.00:26:08.767
Hubble was an
unbelievably difficult

00:26:08.767.00:26:10.033
and challenging mission

00:26:10.033.00:26:14.000
but, Kathy, we have done
some bold things for the future.

00:26:14.000.00:26:16.634
On February 3rd,
tentatively on February 3rd,

00:26:16.634.00:26:18.467
the first Russian in history

00:26:18.467.00:26:20.667
is going to fly on
the space shuttle,

00:26:20.667.00:26:22.801
a very robust mission.

00:26:22.801.00:26:24.100
This is a meaningful mission

00:26:24.100.00:26:27.100
because we're going
to get a comparison

00:26:27.100.00:26:29.501
of Russian techniques
for Earth observation

00:26:29.501.00:26:31.667
and U.S. techniques
for Earth observation.

00:26:31.667.00:26:33.133
They use different
speeds to film.

00:26:33.133.00:26:35.968
We're going to try and get
a calibration of the two.

00:26:35.968.00:26:38.834
This is exciting because
we're going to begin

00:26:38.834.00:26:41.133
to really dig into
an understanding

00:26:41.133.00:26:44.200
on a planetary basis
of our environment.

00:26:44.200.00:26:47.868
We're starting four new missions
this year, exciting missions.

00:26:47.868.00:26:53.267
We're going to go to Mars
and land a robot on Mars.

00:26:53.267.00:26:58.200
We're going to have a
near-Earth asteroid rendezvous.

00:26:58.200.00:27:04.033
We're going to have a study
of the gravitational field.

00:27:04.033.00:27:07.300
We're going to have bold,
new technological missions,

00:27:07.300.00:27:09.434
and in April of 1995,

00:27:09.434.00:27:12.334
not in 1999 or the turn
of the century,

00:27:12.334.00:27:15.767
we're going to dock the shuttle
with the Mir Space Station.

00:27:15.767.00:27:18.601
I submit, Kathy,
with less money,

00:27:18.601.00:27:20.734
we're going to have
more excitement at NASA.

00:27:20.734.00:27:23.701
-And Hubble will,
also, in July,

00:27:23.701.00:27:28.234
have its new improved vision

00:27:28.234.00:27:30.901
looking at the collision
of a comet with Jupiter

00:27:30.901.00:27:34.000
that has enormous
scientific significance

00:27:34.000.00:27:38.100
about the ramifications
of these collisions

00:27:38.100.00:27:40.701
and the ongoing origin
of the universe.

00:27:40.701.00:27:43.033
-We're going to take just --
-It will be a new big bang.

00:27:43.033.00:27:45.434
[ Laughter ]

00:27:45.434.00:27:46.934
-We're going to take just
a couple more questions

00:27:46.934.00:27:47.968
and then wind this up.

00:27:47.968.00:27:51.133
We have in the center
back there, yes.

00:27:51.133.00:27:54.634
-Yes, Charles McClain
from Reuters Television

00:27:54.634.00:27:56.267
for Mr. Goldin.

00:27:56.267.00:27:57.667
Senator Mikulski
and other people

00:27:57.667.00:28:00.767
have compared this technology
to something like

00:28:00.767.00:28:04.133
putting a contact lens on an eye
that doesn't see properly,

00:28:04.133.00:28:07.868
but an eye itself
sees better than an eye

00:28:07.868.00:28:09.901
with a contact lens on it.

00:28:09.901.00:28:12.300
Are you confident that
the repair that you've done

00:28:12.300.00:28:13.801
has brought the Hubble back

00:28:13.801.00:28:16.200
to where it should've
been in the first place

00:28:16.200.00:28:18.934
or are we 95 percent back

00:28:18.934.00:28:22.834
to where the Hubble
ideally should've been?

00:28:22.834.00:28:26.334
-Oh, quite the contrary,
we're much better than that

00:28:26.334.00:28:29.634
because the equipment
that we used

00:28:29.634.00:28:31.834
in the Wide
Field/Planetary camera

00:28:31.834.00:28:36.400
is not 1970s technology
from the first mission,

00:28:36.400.00:28:39.133
but we have 1990s technology.

00:28:39.133.00:28:41.133
So we've taken a step forward.

00:28:41.133.00:28:43.501
We're using CCD devices
in the focal plane,

00:28:43.501.00:28:46.167
which wasn't available
when we first conceived Hubble.

00:28:46.167.00:28:48.033
So this is not 95 percent.

00:28:48.033.00:28:50.667
This is much better
than we originally planned.

00:28:50.667.00:28:55.133
This is a world-class facility.

00:28:55.133.00:28:58.400
This is a national treasure.

00:28:58.400.00:29:01.734
If I might add to that,
I think you ought to understand

00:29:01.734.00:29:04.234
that Hubble was not
only repaired

00:29:04.234.00:29:07.167
in terms of the insufficiency
of the mirror,

00:29:07.167.00:29:10.667
but because we could send up
astronauts with new equipment

00:29:10.667.00:29:13.000
and service this instrument,

00:29:13.000.00:29:15.334
we were able to load
on board technologies

00:29:15.334.00:29:17.767
that simply weren't there
in the '70s

00:29:17.767.00:29:20.934
and when the first
design occurred,

00:29:20.934.00:29:23.300
so we not only have fixed
the things that were wrong,

00:29:23.300.00:29:27.000
but we've been able to upgrade
other pieces of this telescope,

00:29:27.000.00:29:30.100
and therefore this extraordinary
new performance figure.

00:29:32.200.00:29:35.167
-Phil?
-Phil Chen, Earth News,

00:29:35.167.00:29:37.334
for Senator Mikulski,

00:29:37.334.00:29:39.300
Hubble's done a lot
of wonderful things

00:29:39.300.00:29:41.834
as a world-class spacecraft
as everybody has said,

00:29:41.834.00:29:45.000
but it also takes up about half
of NASA's astrophysics budget,

00:29:45.000.00:29:48.834
and that's fixed by Congress,
cannot be decreased by NASA.

00:29:48.834.00:29:51.000
How about everything else
in the astrophysics division,

00:29:51.000.00:29:54.100
everything that may not have
a "big" right before it?

00:29:54.100.00:29:56.501
Is Congress going to be funding
those as much as Hubble

00:29:56.501.00:29:57.968
and assuring NASA

00:29:57.968.00:29:59.534
and the astronomical
community that, yes,

00:29:59.534.00:30:02.033
everything else
is just as important?

00:30:02.033.00:30:05.534
-Well, we believe that
the entire portfolio

00:30:05.534.00:30:09.667
of the astrophysics
section is important.

00:30:09.667.00:30:12.934
Congress will be as good
as the President's budget

00:30:12.934.00:30:18.000
and as good as the allocation
this subcommittee gets.

00:30:18.000.00:30:22.300
This senator supports
a robust space program

00:30:22.300.00:30:24.334
with a variety of missions

00:30:24.334.00:30:26.467
from big science

00:30:26.467.00:30:29.267
to small-cost science,

00:30:29.267.00:30:33.868
but I believe there is
no such thing as small science.

00:30:33.868.00:30:35.200
-Okay.

00:30:35.200.00:30:37.467
Last question is here
in the back row on the right.

00:30:37.467.00:30:38.734
-Chip Reid with Fox News.

00:30:38.734.00:30:41.334
Senator Mikulski, why should
the average taxpayer

00:30:41.334.00:30:42.801
or average TV viewer care

00:30:42.801.00:30:45.100
we have clearer pictures
of outer space?

00:30:45.100.00:30:47.434
What does that mean
to people down on Earth,

00:30:47.434.00:30:50.567
and why is this a worthwhile
expenditure of tax dollars?

00:30:50.567.00:30:53.133
-Well, first of all,
right here in Maryland,

00:30:53.133.00:30:56.801
the work here at Goddard
and then at the Space Telescope

00:30:56.801.00:31:01.100
Institute at Johns Hopkins
has an employment impact

00:31:01.100.00:31:03.033
of over 12,000 people.

00:31:03.033.00:31:04.367
This leads to science.

00:31:04.367.00:31:05.901
This leads to technology.

00:31:05.901.00:31:07.467
This leads to jobs.

00:31:07.467.00:31:11.667
Hubble itself, as it looks back
on the origins of the universe,

00:31:11.667.00:31:14.968
will provide us with the kind
of much-needed information

00:31:14.968.00:31:16.634
to protect the future,

00:31:16.634.00:31:20.534
certainly, if not of the
universe, of this planet itself.

00:31:20.534.00:31:22.767
We view a great deal
of the information

00:31:22.767.00:31:24.300
that will come from Hubble

00:31:24.300.00:31:26.868
will have significant
ramifications

00:31:26.868.00:31:28.934
for understanding
our own planet,

00:31:28.934.00:31:31.200
understanding how
to protect our planet,

00:31:31.200.00:31:33.367
and we see Mission
To Planet Earth

00:31:33.367.00:31:35.501
as really something
that is marbleized

00:31:35.501.00:31:37.767
through the entire space agency,

00:31:37.767.00:31:41.934
and we believe that for the
taxpayer, they're getting jobs,

00:31:41.934.00:31:45.634
and they're getting science
that will protect this planet

00:31:45.634.00:31:49.000
and our way of life.

00:31:49.000.00:31:49.901
-Thank you very much.

00:31:49.901.00:31:51.734
This concludes this panel.

00:31:51.734.00:31:53.467
We'll have a short break
and then begin

00:31:53.467.00:31:56.000
with the science panel
in just a little while.

00:31:56.000.00:31:57.834
Thank you very much.

00:31:57.834.00:32:04.434
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00:32:04.434.00:32:10.968
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