A few of Hubble's successes include the very first views of a star being born, proof that black holes exist and the Universe's age - over 13 billion years old.

Hubble was always destined for a limited life. Many scientists are upset. The US space agency's (Nasa) chief scientist John Grunsfeld justified the decision saying although sad it was "the best thing for the space community".

Do you believe it will be for the best?

The debate is now closed. The following comments reflect the balance of opinion we have received so far:

All equipment has a usable life. The shuttle is technology created even before video recorders were invented; if it were a car it would no longer be on the road. For all the money spent on wing-walking stunts, strapping humans to missiles on repair-man missions, there could have been a new Hubble sent up every year. A satellite or telescope does not need excessively expensive triple-redundant safety measures that human-bearing vessels require. Yes, retire Hubble, but retire people from space and fire up a dozen more Hubbles for the cost of a single astronaut.
K Tough, South Africa

What is needed is a newer and safer service spacecraft than the Shuttle Dino, USA

We definitely need to keep this very productive scientific resource up as long as possible. The missions to service the upcoming Webb telescope will be probably just as dangerous. What is needed is a newer and safer service spacecraft than the Shuttle. Hubble will continue to deliver new cosmic discoveries. Outside of NASA, colleges, universities and poorer developing nations could put Hubble to great use. The Webb telescope will be pigged for time by a select few when Hubble could remain in space for use by researchers who currently have limited access. .
Dino, USA

It's obvious that a lot of the people who left messages here didn't read any of the article except the parts that they wanted to. It's not being done because of any budget changes or cash flow problems. There is new equipment in the pipeline to replace Hubble and the shuttles are going to be retired in a few years. All of their missions will be for the ISS. It's not for lack of funding.
John, Texas,USA

What a bunch of bureaucratic crap. To say that there is no way to service it because of the new rules is pathetic. The shuttles have flown hundreds of successful missions and could easily go back to Hubble, for a single exception to the new rules. The risks are so minute that there would be a line up of astronauts waiting to volunteer for the mission. But the whiny politicians have their heads too far up in the clouds to realize that.
Mike Carniel, Surrey, Canada

I don't see how shuttle trips to the space station will be 'safer' than those bound for Hubble Richard Pavia, Manila, Philippines

If astronaut safety is the primary reason for retiring the hubble, then abandon the space station as well. I don't see how shuttle trips to the space station will be 'safer' than those bound for Hubble. Hubble has proven its worth many times over while the space station has done nothing but drain NASA's budget.
Richard Pavia, Manila, Philippines

Let's keep it going! I am a taxpayer and my money is funding it and I say the American people have a right to voice their opinion! I believe the overwhelming majority would agree that keeping it alive is the right thing to do and if there was a vote it would favour the Hubble!!!!!
Susan M Kecki, Ludlow, Ma USA

Hubble is much to valuable to be tossed aside like over-used chewing gum. Even with the advent of the new Webb Telescope, there would still be plenty of valuable work for it to accomplish. Hubble is many times over a superior instrument to most ground based telescopes, yet I haven't heard of any major observatories shutting down because they have been rendered obsolete. The universe is a huge place, and in a million years a thousand Webb telescopes could not view everything. If there was sufficient will to continue the program, I'm certain some creative brainstorming could come up with a solution. Couldn't we make servicing the Hubble a cooperative effort?
Thomas W. Muther Jr., Topeka, KS, USA

We in Namibia don't get many chances to see space and what's going on there, the only time we see stars is on clear nights. The president of the U.S.A. has plans for moon bases and missions to mars, so why not for the Hubble? It's for me a gateway to space and it would be a shame to waste a piece of equipment like that, just thought I say that.
Mornay, Swakopmund, Namibia

This evolution is the natural progression in learning about the beyond Alex, Arlington

Retiring the Hubble when the next telescope the James Webb Telescope is operative is the evolution of the progress we've made to see the cosmos. The Hubble did its job more than anyone expected. Let's retire the old man and let the James Webb Telescope take over where the Hubble made such awesome strides. This evolution is the natural progression in learning about the beyond.
Alex, Arlington, VA, USA

I could understand if the Hubble was being retired if the JWT (James Webb Telescope) was ready to go. But the JWT won't be ready for years! (2012 at the earliest) This decision by NASA's John Grunsfeld , I just don't understand how he could make it. Imagine how much more we could have learned...
Patrick Butler, Memphis, TN USA

This is a crime. Hubble has been one of the most productive laboratories in history. It still has secrets to reveal. To abandon it for political gain is simply unconscionable.
Dale Seidenschwarz, Little Rock, Arkansas, USA

We're never going to make progress in space if we're afraid of getting a bloody nose Joe, Bucks

Yes, space is a very dangerous place, but time for another reality check: We're never going to make progress in space if we're afraid of getting a bloody nose. Astronauts risk their lives in the name of exploration, if they didn't they wouldn't agree to the job in the first place. The Hubble telescope is there in the name of exploration. It should stay until its successor is ready.
Joe, Bucks, UK

The future is in large space based interferometers which would yield better data.
Bill, Garden City, USA

Keep Hubble going. I'm sick and tired of looking at all the destruction we humans are causing on this earth. Lets look at the glory of the heavens instead!
Kent Canoy, Idaho, USA

The Hubble is very important in expanding our knowledge of the universe. But let's not forget something. The telescope along with the budget for Nasa is being paid for by the American people. If the rest of the world really wants to see the Hubble operation, it should contribute the millions of dollars required to maintain it. Otherwise, let Nasa make the decisions it deems appropriate. They know more about space exploration than we do.
Catherine, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA

If it is because of safety reasons than we have lost our nerve Chuck Waggoner, Monte Sereno

The retiring of the Hubble makes no sense to me. If it is because of safety reasons than we have lost our nerve. If it is because of changing priorities including the new manned mission to the moon and Mars then we have our priorities wrong. Hubble has been a spectacular success both in terms of science and educating the world about the universe.
Chuck Waggoner, Monte Sereno, CA, USA

It is a shame to abandon the sharpest eye we have ever had. Rob Hagge, Haxelhurst, USA

Total and utter nonsense. I don't get it. It's a huge loss to science. Indeed offer it to the rest of the world!
Wien Feitz, Nijmegen, NL

Get rid of Hubble as long as it is replaced with an upgrade!
Mos, London

The images of Hubble have been the only thing that has kept my interest in space over the last decade. Rockets and shuttles are boring after a while. If NASA gets rid of Hubble, more of their budget should be slashed.
Daniel, Chicago, USA

Why not just use a de-orbiter to slowly move Hubble into a similar orbit to that of the ISS? Then it can be serviced and upgraded easily from there, surely? If the effort is going to be made to get an de-orbiter up there in the first place then it might as well be used to prolong Hubble's life rather than destroy it.
Matt Hardcastle, Newcastle, UK

Time for a reality check: - space is a very dangerous place Michael Franks, Bristol

It's unfortunate that the Hubble telescope will be retired, but understandable. Time for a reality check: - space is a very dangerous place. Astronauts are risking their lives simply by being there. After assessing the risks to human life of continuing to support Hubble, it has been decided not to continue. I can understand that, particularly in the light of the recent Space Shuttle tragedy.
Michael Franks, Bristol, UK

Keep the Hubble! I have enjoyed nothing so much in the past 4-5 years as watching the exploration of the cosmos, stars, galaxies and cosmology. Hubble is Great! Too Good to Lose!
Michael Bille, Santa Rosa, CA. USA

If the US does not want the Hubble, why not offer it to the rest of the world? I am sure Russia and China with the financial and technical support of Europe will be able to find a way to extend the life of the telescope.
B Selvadurai, Klang, Malaysia

I think servicing smaller devices such as the gyros could be done on a scaled-down repair mission, with the help of the Russian Soyuz. This would allow at least some additional science to be done with the instruments that are now on board.
Aljaz Turk, Ljubljana, Slovenia

In my way of thinking, the US government should not turn a deaf ear to the Hubble. Since, it is a cradle for the current space mission.
Zelalem Wudeneh, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

The idea to retire the relatively new instrument after the enormous work and costs to get it there in the first place, is appalling Scott, Salt Lake City, USA

I think the idea to retire the relatively new instrument after the enormous work and costs to get it there in the first place, is appalling. I don't think it has even begun to tell us all it could. A Mars mission is a long way off, as are structures on the moon. Missions and projects like MER and Hubble are far more cost effective. I don't see why after every failed NASA project, and there have been relatively few, the agenda has to be completely rewritten. Where's the long touted "space plane"? Not much talk about that any more.
Scott, Salt Lake City, USA

I see no use in any space mission - Hubble or Moon or Mars - unless it helps us become better stewards of Earth.
Ian Yee, Austin, Texas, USA

This is like buying an expensive car, and then refusing to buy gas for it because it's "too expensive." The Hubble is already paid for and working beautifully, so instead of abandoning it, why not give all of the soldiers in Iraq holiday for a few hours in order to pay for the maintenance?
Eric, CA, USA

To much good science is to be lost in retiring Hubble. To further subsidize the military-industrial complex is not justified
James Hasselle, Lawrence, KS, USA

I don't think such decisions are made without thinking. There is a reason behind this that anyone in place of Nasa would've taken this decision. Although Hubble serviced great, everything should come to an end. We're going to miss Hubble, but I'm sure something great will come soon.
Rudy Zeinoun, Lebanon

Keep the Hubble. It is worth more than a Mars trip.
Gary Stone, Red Wing, USA

The early retirement of Hubble is a tragedy for science. Once again crass political hype has won out over logic. We are many decades from a manned mission to Mars - should such a mission ever make scientific sense.
Robert, El Prado, USA

The human race needs to get to other planets and eventually other solar systems Charles, Cape Girardeau

Yes the priorities are right. The human race needs to get to other planets and eventually other solar systems. If we do not then the human race will become extinct some day in the future. I also think NASA should give the Hubble to another country if they wish to maintain the telescope.
Charles, Cape Girardeau, USA

I view the issue as a global citizen - having Hubble space telescope up and running is a benefit to humanity. Nasa, being an American organization, is too proud to go out and ask for financial aid abroad given the lack of domestic funding.
Yevgeni, Moscow

It seems that our nation has become afraid to question our president. Spends over $100 billion on Iraq, but to spend any additional money for the space program some of the most productive programs in history will be sacrificed. It makes no sense. Hubble is a working system, why kill it?
Tony Harper, Chattanooga, TN USA

This is what I feared - that we would sacrifice science for moving man into space. We have a great deal to discover without risking man in space. We should continue to find ways to put man in space, but with research on the ground.
Chuck Andrus, Huntley, USA

The BBC report fails to note this decision was prompted by safety concerns. The Columbia Accident Investigation Board determined that all future Shuttle flights must be able to seek refuge at the ISS for safety purposes. Shuttle flights to Hubble follow an orbit that does not permit access to ISS. NASA is committed to adhering to the safety recommendations of the Investigation Board. That is precisely what NASA is doing here.
Bill G, Cary, USA

Fix the telescope, its worth it.
John MacMullin, Phoenix, United States

It is a sad thing to see the Hubble taken down. It's been an outstanding triumph of science and space exploration. But even as a scientist, I can't justify to myself launching an increasingly dangerous Shuttle just to give us three years of Hubble pictures. Let's concentrate on Hubble's replacement, the James Webb Space Telescope, which promises to be over ten times better than Hubble itself!
Allen Bryan, Cambridge, USA