NASA to repair Hubble despite potential risks

Undaunted by the dangers that almost led NASA to eliminate his mission, the space agency's most experienced visitor to the Hubble Space Telescope was named Tuesday to a new astronaut team for the final overhaul of the flying observatory.

"I feel like a mission to Hubble is worth risking my life for," said John Grunsfeld, an astrophysicist who is headed back to the Hubble as a spacewalking repairman for the third time. "This is really important for our country."

NASA chief Michael Griffin announced Tuesday as anticipated that the agency will go forward with the $900 million mission in 2008 after years of debate about the risks.