(05-31-2025, 06:19 PM)HereOnThePrimalEdge Wrote: The emphasis is now on science that supports the military, and technology which can track, search, and identify. This was always true to some extent, even more so now.
Haleakala AMOS had funds for the Star Wars laser tests.
As someone with a military background once told me when the Hubble space telescope needed repairs - - oh they’ll fix it, you don’t think it’s always looking at stars, do you?
It also looks at galaxies, planets, and nebulae. So your military guy is correct. However, I can't think of one thing the HST can do that would help the military. It can't spy on Earth, nor can it observe satellites, at least not spy satellites or those in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), so I'm not sure what that person was suggesting.
As for the TMT, I posted a long time ago that it would not be built in Hawaii. It's a tremendous shame it won't, so many good-paying jobs and educational opportunities will be lost to Hawaii. As for Hawaii being the best place on the planet for astronomical research, that reputation will also be lost.