Hubble Servicing mission STS-125

[Rick]

On Monday, May 11, after months of delays and preparation, NASA's Space Shuttle Atlantis launched from the Kennedy Space Center on the final servicing mission to the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope. The seven crew members left Florida for low Earth orbit at 2:01 pm, for a scheduled 11-day mission, including 5 days of Extra-vehicular activity (EVAs) to work on the Hubble. So far the repairs appear to be going very well - the final EVA is scheduled for today, and the landing planned for May 22nd.

More (and 31 photos): http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/05/hubbles_final_servicing_missio.html

[Rick]

Astronauts on the space shuttle Atlantis have released the Hubble Space Telescope after a series of spacewalks to repair and upgrade the observatory.

Astronaut Megan McArthur liberated the telescope from Atlantis' robotic arm at 0857 EDT (1357 BST), marking the last human contact with Hubble.

Pilot Greg Johnson then used two short burns of the shuttle's thrusters to gently back away from the telescope.

More: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8057549.stm

[Rick]

NASA has postponed until tomorrow the scheduled landing of space shuttle Atlantis at the end of its STS-125 mission to the Hubble Space Telescope.

More: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/05/22/atlantis_landing_postponed/

[Rick]

Nasa has delayed the return to Earth of space shuttle Atlantis as a result of bad weather at the landing site.

Officials decided to abort landing at the Kennedy Space Center on Saturday, for the second consecutive day.

Instead, an attempt will be made to land on Sunday, either in Florida or at Edwards Air Force Base, California.

(Link now points at next story...)

[Rick]

The space shuttle Atlantis has landed in California, where it was diverted after continuing stormy weather prevented a Florida touchdown.

Atlantis landed at 1539 GMT at Edwards Air Force Base.

Officials had aborted Saturday's planned landing at the Kennedy Space Center for the second consecutive day.

The seven astronauts on board Atlantis have taken part in an ambitious and risky mission to service and re-fit the Hubble telescope.

More: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8062773.stm

[mickw]

The Hubble Space Telescope appears better than new as NASA puts the 19-year-old observatory through a battery of tests after its final facelift by an astronaut repair crew.

Ed Weiler, NASA's science missions chief, said Hubble is in the midst of meticulous systems and calibration checks following the successful upgrades and repairs by Atlantis shuttle astronauts.

"All of those have gone beautifully," Weiler told reporters after Atlantis' smooth California landing on Sunday.  "Everything is going well, as far as I can tell."

The calibrations and electronics tests should run their course by the end of summer, with a new and improved Hubble once more ready for science observations in late August, Weiler said.

More:   http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/090526-hubble-upgrades.html

[Rick]

Space shuttle Atlantis is today at Biggs Army Air Field, El Paso, Texas, having hitched a ride yesterday atop a modified 747 from Edwards Air Force Base, California. NASA is closely eyeing the weather to see if the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft can make the final leg to Kennedy Space Center in Florida this afternoon.

More: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/06/02/atlantis_shuttle_flight/

[Rick]

Two instruments that served more than 15 years aboard the Hubble telescope have gone on display in the US.

Washington DC's National Air and Space Museum is the new home for the WFPC-2 and Costar, which once served as the telescope's eyes and its spectacles.

The two instruments were replaced during a servicing mission in May.

They will depart in December for a brief tour of California before returning permanently to the museum in March 2010.

More: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8369323.stm