University of Hawai‘i 0.9m Telescope

Hoku Kea was meant to be a teaching telescope, but the original 0.9m (3ft) mirror was delivered warped and the manufacturer went bankrupt. So, it has mostly been inactive for the last six years, making it an easy target for decommissioning – part of a plan to remove three telescopes to ease tensions over TMT. However, a vocal group of pro-telescope Hawaiians have argued that the education opportunity it provides to Hawaiian students is too valuable; its fate remains uncertain.