How Did We Miss Hearing About This?

[Bob Schroeck]

This happened six months ago:  http://www.time.com/time/health/article ... 36,00.html]NASA Receives Two New Hubble Telescopes For Free.  (Quick summary:  they were built for a spy agency, which moved on to better tech before they could even unwrap the 'scopes.  Said agency then gave them to NASA.)
-- Bob
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Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[Jorlem]

*Cheers*

I have no idea how we missed that. That's amazing!
-----
Stand between the Silver Crystal and the Golden Sea.
"Youngsters these days just have no appreciation for the magnificence of the legendary cucumber."  --Krityan Elder, Tales of Vesperia.

[robkelk]

Spy agencies tend to not discuss what they do...
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[Berk]

It boggles me a little that NASA had to do everything short of turning tricks to keep Hubble up and running. And some spooks had TWO of them we never heard about.
- Grumpy Uncle Gearhead

[Jorlem]

Well, the article does state that they'll need some modifications for stellar photography, instead of taking pictures of people. That the spooks considered them so obsolete that they just gave them away though...
-----
Stand between the Silver Crystal and the Golden Sea.
"Youngsters these days just have no appreciation for the magnificence of the legendary cucumber."  --Krityan Elder, Tales of Vesperia.

[Labster]

Huh.  I didn't miss it.  I guess I just didn't think about sharing it.  My Astronomy professor always said that the best telescopes in space are pointing the wrong direction.
In related belated space image news: 40 years ago today, the last manned mission to the moon blasted off, Apollo 17.  And 40 years ago today, the Blue Marble photo was taken by the astronauts aboard the craft.

Three cheers for eyes in the sky.  And let's please set foot on the Moon in my lifetime.
-- ∇×V