A Different View of Hubble

Your article on the Hubble Space Telescope repair mission ((Space, Nov. 29)) called the satellite a ''$1.6 billion disappointment that has kept astronomers in anguish since it was launched three years ago.'' In fact, the Hubble telescope has opened up new horizons for astronomy, allowing scientists to peer farther into the depths of space and more closely at nearby stars and galaxies than ever before. Whether the value of pure science is enough to justify the Hubble's cost is certainly a matter for debate, but the value of Hubble to astronomy is irrefutable.

Peter Rowen Kalispell, Montana

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