Shuttle Atlantis is Hubble-bound
Published 10:02 pm Monday, May 11, 2009
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Atlantis blasted off Monday for the Hubble Space Telescope on the most delicate and dangerous repair job ever in orbit — a mission so risky that for the first time a second shuttle stands ready to rescue the seven astronauts if something goes wrong.
It will be the last visit to the aging observatory, and the work will include five spacewalks in an orbit strewn with space junk because of satellite collisions and breakups. During the 11-day mission, astronauts will try to fix equipment that was never designed to be tinkered with in space, and they will not have the option of using the international space station as a safe harbor in a crisis.
The improvements will extend the life of a technological marvel that has yielded breathtaking pictures of distant galaxies and some of the celestial violence that shaped the universe.
“I have full confidence that they’ll pull off a success and if they do, we’ll have a Hubble for at least five, six, eight years more,” said Ed Weiler, NASA’s science mission chief.
The crew will replace the 19-year-old Hubble’s batteries and gyroscopes, install two cameras and take a crack at fixing two broken science instruments. Astronauts also will remove the science data-handling unit that failed in September and had to be revived, and put in an old spare that was hustled into operation. Fresh insulating covers will be added to the outside of the telescope, and a new fine guidance sensor for pointing will be hooked up.
Mission Control told the astronauts that an early look at the launch video had uncovered nothing of concern. Some debris was spotted coming off the fuel tank, but nothing appeared to strike Atlantis. The astronauts inspected the thermal shielding on their crew cabin Monday evening; a full-scale survey of the shuttle was set today.
Among the astronauts is pilot Greg Johnson, whose father and step-mother, Raleigh and Patsy Johnson, live in Mukilteo. Greg Johnson, a 1977 University of Washington graduate and former Navy pilot once stationed at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, lives in Houston.
If an emergency arises during the mission, Endeavour is ready to lift off in as little as three days to save the six men and one woman aboard Atlantis. Endeavour will remain on standby until Atlantis heads back home May 22.
