Based on the recent confirmation hearings that went rather smoothly by all accounts, it appears that Mike Griffin will soon take his place as the next head of NASA. After canning a possible robotic servicing mission to keep the orbiting telescope operational, the previous NASA directive was to de-orbit Hubble rather than send the shuttle in to make repairs. Griffin, however, sounds like he's coming in with a new perspective. As reported by SpaceRef.com:

When asked by another senator to speak about Hubble, Griffin said: "With regard to the value of Hubble, the shortest way to say this is that the Hubble, almost by itself, is the instrument that allowed us as a race of people to understand that it is true that we know nothing about 95% of the universe." With regard to robotic servicing, Griffin said: "Before I was nominated I was chair of review committee for the robotic servicing mission. That committee has designated that the mission is not feasible - in terms of the time, money, and period before Hubble may become unusable. I would like to take the robotic mission off the plate. I think the choice comes down to reinstating a shuttle servicing mission or a simple deorbiting mission. The initial decision was made in the aftermath of the loss of Columbia. When we return to flight it will be essentially a new vehicle, with a new risk analysis associated with it. I think we should reassess the earlier decision in light of what we learn after return to flight.

No, that doesn't mean that the human mission to service Hubble is now likely to happen, but it does seem that Griffin recognizes the importance of Hubble, and that he is willing to take a fresh look. That's really all we can ask for.

By all accounts that we've read, this guy sounds like he'll be good for NASA. In addition to being a scientist (as opposed to just a political administrator, which is also a necessary skillset), Griffin shares some of our thoughts on space exploration. In particular, we like this statement, reported by New Scientist:

"I am an unabashed supporter of space exploration in general, and of human space flight in particular," Griffin told the House Science Committee in 2003. "I believe that the human space flight program is in the long run possibly the most significant activity in which our nation is engaged."

We couldn't agree more. In addition, Griffin seems to share our desire to move more quickly than the "no later than" dates would indicate (per SpaceRef.com):

With regard to the CEV [Crew Exploration Vehicle] flying by 2014 "That is too far out. The President said 'no later than 2014'. He did not say that we could not be smart and do it earlier. The U.S. developed Gemini - from - award to first flight - in 38 months. Even the Apollo spacecraft - a more challenging vehicle whose development was interrupted by a tragedy - happened in 6 years. It seems unacceptable to me to take between 2005 - 2014 to do the same thing when we already know how."

Griffin also seems to be enjoying a rare round of actual bipartisan support on the Hill. According to everything we've read, this might be the only qualified person that Dubya has ever nominated for any position ever.

We'll see where Griffin leads NASA in the coming years, but for now, we have high hopes. Nothing thrills us as much as the prospects of space exploration, and it looks like this guy will do it right.