Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

It’s Official: Hubble Mission to Launch May 11

[/caption]After today’s Flight Readiness Review for space shuttle Atlantis’ STS-125 mission to the Hubble Space Telescope, mission managers unanimously agreed to set May 11 at 2:01 p.m. EDT as the launch date. This long awaited flight will repair and upgrade Hubble, likely the most significant satellite ever launched. And, for the space shuttle, it’s a final visit to a dear, old friend.

During the 11-day mission’s five spacewalks, astronauts will install two new instruments, repair two inactive ones and perform the component replacements that will keep the telescope functioning into at least 2014.

In addition to the originally scheduled work, Atlantis also will carry a replacement Science Instrument Command and Data Handling Unit for Hubble. Astronauts will install the unit on the telescope, removing the one that stopped working on Sept. 27, 2008, delaying this servicing mission until the replacement was ready.

Veteran astronaut Scott Altman will command the final space shuttle mission to service NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, and retired Navy Capt. Gregory C. Johnson will serve as pilot. Mission specialists rounding out the crew are: veteran spacewalkers John Grunsfeld and Mike Massimino, and first-time space fliers Andrew Feustel, Michael Good and Megan McArthur.

Source: NASA

5 Replies to “It’s Official: Hubble Mission to Launch May 11”

  1. I’ll be in my front yard in Orlando with a 8″ telescope an a digital camera attached..my last attempt was Perfect with new camera till i accidently deleted the movie going to comupter..8^(…

    Go STS-125!!!! 8^)

  2. I was going to ask how many servicing missions Hubble has had through the years, but found the answer on Wikipedia.

    I remember when it first launched I was in High School, and when there was first word there was an issue with the telescope that needed to be resolved, I joked with my friends that the scientists were probably looking at nude beaches with it. (Yes, I know the earth is too bright to point Hubble at. 😀 )

  3. “…likely the most significant satellite ever launched.”

    I would venture that that honour goes to Sputnik, despite being a hopeless Hubble romantic.

    Apart from that – YIIEEEWWWWWWWWWWWWW! That announcement just rocked my socks.

  4. Great!!! This HST must remain functional, although soon, it will be joined with another space scope, and, in a few more years, a much more powerful scope. It is very important to have space telescope redundancy in this increasing discoveries and findings of our great Universe

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