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NASA - Mission Accomplished: Leaving Hubble Better Than Ever

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MissionAccomplished:LeavingHubbleBetterThanEver 05.29.09 Takeonespaceshuttle,sevenhighlytrainedastronauts,tonsofequipment,andonelegendaryorbitingtelescopeand youhavethe5.3millionmileodysseythatwasthefinalservicingmissionforNASA'sHubbleSpaceTelescope. Aftermonthsoftraininganda sevenmonthpostponement, theSTS125crew'smission

WhyisHubbleimportant? NASA'sHubbleSpaceTelescopeis fulfillingthehopesastronomerslong heldforalarge,opticallysuperb telescopeorbitingaboveEarth's distortingatmosphereandproviding uniquelyclearanddeepviewsofthe cosmos.

gotunderwaywithanontime launchintoabrilliantblue Floridasky.TheMay11,2009, liftoffofspaceshuttleAtlantis tookplaceat2:01p.m.EDT fromLaunchPad39Aat NASA'sKennedySpace Center.Asiftosay,"Comeonup!"the19yearoldHubblewaspassing directlyoverKennedyatthetimeofthelaunch.Themissionendedlaterthan plannedatthebackuplandingsite,EdwardsAirForceBaseinCalifornia. LingeringtropicalraininFloridaproducedthreeconsecutivedaysofwave offsatKennedybeforeAtlantismadean11:39a.m.EDTtouchdownat EdwardsonMay24. VeteranastronautScottAltmancommandedthisfinalspaceshuttlemission toHubble,withGregoryC.Johnsonaspilot.Missionspecialistsincluded veteranspacewalkersJohnGrunsfeldandMikeMassimino,andfirsttime spacefliersAndrewFeustel,MichaelGoodandMeganMcArthur,who servedasflightengineer. Thetasksaheadofthecrew weremonumental:conduct spacewalksonfive consecutivedaysthatwould leavethetelescopeupgraded andsendingbackevenmore spectacularimageswellinto thenextdecade. Tomitigatetherisktothecrew shouldAtlantissustain damageonascentorduring themission,spaceshuttle Endeavourwasstationedat Kennedy'sLaunchPad39Bas astandbyrescuevehicle.A uniqueriskwastheorbitin whichHubbleresides.It containsahigherlevelof

Imageabove:Banksoftreesand bushesprovideaframeforthelaunch ofspaceshuttleAtlantisfromLaunch Pad39AatNASA'sKennedySpace CenterinFlorida.Imagecredit: NASA/SandraJosephKevinO'Connell Viewlargerimage

Themission'smajorupgradesto Hubbleandwhattheyprovide: WideFieldCamera3Hubble'snew panchromaticcamerawillallow astronomerstobetterobservegalaxy evolution,darkmatteranddarkenergy. CosmicOriginsSpectrographThe mostsensitivespectrographeverflown onHubble,thenewinstrumentwill peerfurtherintotheuniversethanever beforeinthenearandfarultraviolet ranges. AdvancedCameraforSurveysNow repaired,it'soneofHubble'sprimary cameras,whichstoppedworkingin 2007.It'sresponsibleforsomeofthe mostfamousimagesfromHubble. SpaceTelescopeImaging SpectrographInoperablesince 2004,therepairedinstrumentreveals informationaboutplanets,comets,

Imageabove:Inoneofthemost detailedastronomicalimagesever produced,NASA'sHubbleSpace Telescopecapturedanunprecedented lookattheOrionNebulainJanuary 2006.Morethan3,000starsofvarious sizesappearinthisimage.Image credit:NASA Viewlargerimage

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NASA - Mission Accomplished: Leaving Hubble Better Than Ever

starsandgalaxies. ScienceInstrumentCommandand DataHandlingSystemReplacement oftheunitthatfailedinSeptember 2008,returnsfullfunctionforsending informationandreceivingcommands. FineGuidanceSensor2Replaced,it isoneofthreesensorsthathelppoint andlockthetelescopeontargets. RateSensorUnitsThesixnew gyroscopesintheseunitsworkwiththe FineGuidanceSensorstohelp preciselypointthetelescope. BatteryModuleUnitsReplaced,they powerHubblewhenthesolararrays areoutofthesun'sreach.

debristhatpotentiallycould havestruckAtlantisduringthe mission.Anotherfactorwas thelackof"safehaven" normallyprovidedbythe InternationalSpaceStationon othermissions. Bothbeforeandafterthe captureandservicingof Hubble,theastronauts conductedcarefulinspections ofAtlantis'exteriorusingthe shuttle's50footlongorbiter Imageabove:STS125Mission SpecialistAndrewFeustelnavigates neartheHubbleSpaceTelescopeon theendoftheremotemanipulator systemarm,controlledfrominside Atlantis'crewcabin.MissionSpecialist JohnGrunsfeldsignalstohis crewmatefromjustafewfeetaway. Imagecredit:NASA Viewlargerimage

boomsensorsystemattached toits49footlongroboticarm.Nosignificantdamagefromeitherlaunchor thedaysinspacewasfound.OncemissionmanagersgaveAtlantisaclean billofhealth,Endeavourwasreleasedfromitsstandbyduties. TheheartoftheservicingmissionthecaptureofHubble,fivespacewalks andreleaseoftherefurbishedtelescopespannedflightdaysthree throughnine.Bytheendofthelastspacewalk,allthemissionobjectivesto improveHubble'sviewoftheuniverseandextenditslifehadbeen accomplished. Twodaysafterlaunch,AtlantiscaughtuptoHubble350milesaboveEarth. ItwasuptoAltmanandJohnsontobringtheshuttlecloseenoughtothe telescopesothatMcArthurcouldusetheroboticarmtocaptureitandgently placeitonarotatingworkstandinthepayloadbay.Fromthere,thepairsof spacewalkerswouldconducttheirwork. BothGrunsfeldandMassimino InsidetheMission MissionSpecialistMikeMassimino,or AstroMikeasheisknown,gavethe publicararelookinsidehistraining andthemissionthroughhisupdates onthepopularonlinesocialnetwork Twitter.Hereareafewofhisentries: Fromorbit: "Launchwasawesome!!Iamfeeling great,workinghard,andenjoyingthe magnificentviews,theadventureofa lifetimehasbegun!"May12 "Attheendofmyspacewalk,Ihadtime tojustlookattheEarth,themost awesomesightmyeyeshaveseen." May18 "Ourfifthandfinalspacewalkisover, everyoneishappy,timeforacrew dinnertocelebrate!"May19 "Gettingreadyforbed,sleepingin spaceiscool,tiedownyoursleeping bagandfloatinsideofit,veryrelaxing." May19 hadbeentoHubblebefore, andeachwaspairedwitha firsttimespacewalker. GrunsfeldteamedwithFeustel onthefirst,thirdandfifth spacewalksandMassimino workedwithGoodduringthe othertwo. Eachspacewalkwasplanned tolastabout61/2hours,but mostlastedbetweenseven andeighthours. Here'sthebreakdownofthe marathonspacewalks: FirstSpacewalk:Grunsfeld andFeustelinstalledthe900 poundWideFieldCamera3, replacedthefailedScience InstrumentCommandand DataHandlingUnit,and installedtheSoftCapture

Imageabove:WithAtlantisinthe background,theSTS125astronauts standonRunway22atEdwardsAir ForceBaseinCaliforniaafterlanding. Fromleft,theyareMissionSpecialist MikeMassimino,PilotGregoryC. Johnson,CommanderScottAltman andMissionSpecialistsMegan McArthur,JohnGrunsfeld,Andrew FeustelandMichaelGood.Image credit:NASA/CarlaThomas,EAFB Viewlargerimage

Imageabove:Afteratwodaytripfrom EdwardsAirForceBaseinCalifornia, theShuttleCarrierAircraftandits piggybackpassenger,spaceshuttle Atlantis,approachtheShuttleLanding

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NASA - Mission Accomplished: Leaving Hubble Better Than Ever

"AsIclosedmyeyestosleeplastnight Ithought"theseeyeshaveseensome beautifulsightstoday."May20 "JustsawOrionsnebulainthenight skythesightsmakeallthehardwork andriskworthwhileforme."May20 Toreadmore,visitAstroMikeon Twitter.

Mechanism,plusthreelatch kitstomaketheremaining servicingeasier.Spacewalk time:sevenhoursand20 minutes. SecondSpacewalk:

FacilityrunwayatNASA'sKennedy SpaceCenterinFlorida.Imagecredit: NASA/JackPfaller Viewlargerimage

MassiminoandGoodreplacedallthreeRateSensorUnits,eachcontaining twogyroscopes,andalsoreplaceda460poundBatteryModuleUnit. Spacewalktime:sevenhoursand56minutes. ThirdSpacewalk:GrunsfeldandFeustelinstalledthenewCosmicOrigins SpectrographandrepairedtheAdvancedCameraforSurveys.Spacewalk

time:sixhoursand36minutes. FourthSpacewalk:MassiminoandGoodreplacedapowersupplyboardintheSpaceTelescopeImagingSpectrograph usingspecialtoolsdevelopedforthismission.Spacewalktime:eighthoursandtwominutes. FifthSpacewalk:GrunsfeldandFeustelreplacedanotherofHubble's460poundBatteryModuleUnits,removedand replacedFineGuidanceSensor2,andinstalledNewOuterBlanketLayersontheexteriorofthreebaysofthetelescope. Spacewalktime:sevenhoursandtwominutes. Whilenotwithoutsometroublesomemoments,thespacewalkersovercameanydifficultiestoaccomplishalltherepairs andupgradesofthechallengingmission.AnonboardIMAXcameracapturedtheirworkforaHubble3Dmoviedueto debutin2010. Thedaysbeforelandingprovidedanopportunityforthecrewtohavesomeneededoffdutytime,aswellasachanceto speaktoU.S.PresidentBarackObama,thecreworbitingontheInternationalSpaceStation,reportersbackonEarth,and totestifybeforeaU.S.Senatecommitteeafirsttimeeventfromspace. Atthecompletionofthefinalspacewalk,themomentcamewhenhumanhandshadtouchedHubbleforthelasttime.The STS125crewleftthetelescopereadytodazzletheworldforyearstocome,withmorescientificdiscoveriesandstunning imagesnowpossiblebecauseofitsimprovedviewthatstretchesfromoursolarsystemtothefarreachesoftheuniverse. CherylL.Mansfield NASA'sJohnF.KennedySpaceCenter Findthisarticleat: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts125/launch/125_overview.html

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