Re: Hope
Not really. Expect the first 100 (or more) Starship launches to be unmanned. The current plans for the manned version don't include any provisions for on orbit capture and repair/service work or "space-walking" like a manipulator arm or airlock. And there's no other spacecraft currently in the works that could. Even if they were to start now, they wouldn't be able to get anything remotely mission ready before HST was truly dead. Even with the shuttle still flying, preparing the service missions took years of advance planning and they no longer have the luxury of having a spacecraft set up to do exactly what is required for this sort of mission.
If they can't get HST back up, that's it. That's effectively the end. And it's a crying shame.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
