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NASA is considering four proposed space telescopes and will likely launch one of them in the 2030s as a flagship mission, like the Hubble Space Telescope or the James Webb Space Telescope:
- Large Ultraviolet/Optical/Infrared Surveyor (LUVOIR), a multipurpose follow-up mission to the Hubble Space Telescope and the James Webb Space Telescope with a 8-16 meter (26-52 foot) primary mirror that would make discoveries on exoplanets, dark matter, star formation, the earliest galaxies of the universe, and within our own solar system.
- Habitable Exoplanet Imaging Mission (HabEx), a smaller telescope than LUVOIR with a 4-8 meter (13-26 foot) primary mirror and instruments sensitive to ultraviolet, visible and near-infrared light to find worlds outside our solar system that could harbor life. HabEx could fly with a coronagraph, a component inside the telescope to mask starlight and reveal faint reflections from planets, or a starshade, a separate vehicle flying in formation with the telescope to blot out starlight.
- Origins Space Telescope, a far-infrared surveyor with a primary mirror up to 9 meters (30 feet) in diameter that would be a successor to NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope and the European Space Agency's Herschel Space Observatory. The Origins Space Telescope will investigate how galaxies, stars and planets form, search for water and greenhouse gases on exoplanets, and study interstellar dust.
- The Lynx X-ray telescope, following in the footsteps of NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and ESA's XMM-Newton mission, will study the dawn of the first black holes, and the epoch of reionization, when the first galaxies and light sources emerged after the Big Bang.
The LUVOIR space telescope would be the closest to a successor of Hubble, covering a similar range of wavelengths. It is also similar in size to two recent proposals: the High Definition Space Telescope (HDST) and the Advanced Technology Large-Aperture Space Telescope (ATLAST).
The JWST was not designed to be serviceable and will likely only last for 5-10 years after its planned launch in October 2018. It has a 6.5 meter primary mirror. Hubble has been operating since 1990 but only has a 2.4 meter primary mirror.
The Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope will launch in the 2020s.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 24 2017, @10:52PM (3 children)
As a New Zealander also, what happens when someone unfriendly knocks on our door? There is definitely a conversation to be had about this.
(Score: 2) by Absolutely.Geek on Monday July 24 2017, @11:14PM (2 children)
It really depends on what they want; if someone is trying to invade; then we are SOL since we effectively have no military power. However in todays world an invasion is extremely unlikely; economic invasion is much more likely and is in fact an ongoing process.
But in the theoretical case that someone is going to invade. We would call for assistance from our allies; which include the US. I am not advocating that the US stops military spending; I am merely pointing out that the level of spending is not justified.
Dropping their spending by 20% on military and reallocating that money to other endeavors still keeps the money in their economy and would not diminish their position of #1 military power in the world.
Don't trust the police or the government - Shihad: My mind's sedate.
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Monday July 24 2017, @11:41PM (1 child)
> Dropping their spending by 20% on military and reallocating that money to other endeavors
Few Americans fully realize that the $50 Billion raise that Trumps wants to give the Pentagon is a mere 10% of the current half-trillion annual defense budget.
Them numbers just dang too big...
(Score: 2) by Absolutely.Geek on Monday July 24 2017, @11:52PM
Just imagine going the other way; instead of spending $5.5Trillion (up by 10%) over the next 10 years on the military. Cut that to "only" $4Trillion (down by 20%).
That remaining $1Trillion could do a lot of good in other places; How much good would an extra $100 Billion do for the schooling system over the next 10 years? How about an extra $200 Billion on infrastructure over the next 10 years; how would the various research bodies use and extra $100 Billion, maybe a battery break through; fusion; cancer not being a thing anymore. The mind boggles at what we can achieve given the motivation and funding.
Don't trust the police or the government - Shihad: My mind's sedate.