Is the Hubble Telescope in Need of Another Repair?

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The Hubble Space Telescope is set for its fifth and final servicing mission, scheduled for May 11, 2009, after previous delays due to safety concerns following the Columbia disaster. NASA's shuttle Atlantis will conduct repairs and upgrades over 11 days and five spacewalks, ensuring Hubble remains operational for at least another five years. The mission includes the installation of the new Wide Field Camera 3, enhancing Hubble's imaging capabilities significantly. Concerns about the shuttle's heat shield damage from launch have been downplayed, but the risk of space debris remains a critical issue. This mission marks a significant milestone in Hubble's history, as it continues to provide invaluable contributions to astronomy.
  • #31
Cyrus said:
No, not the foam. How much tile.
According to NOVA the chunk of that lightweight insulating foam was about the size of a briefcase and it punched a hole about the size of a dinner-plate in the carbon-tile leading edge of the wing.
 
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  • #32
Cyrus said:
No, not the foam. How much tile.
I don't think there was much left of columbia to measure but the tests they did firing foam at a model gave a hole about 40x40cm
 
  • #33
mgb_phys said:
I don't think there was much left of columbia to measure but the tests they did firing foam at a model gave a hole about 40x40cm

Thats a huge 1ft x 1ft hole compared to these scuffs.
 
  • #34
The ESA Herschel and Planck missions launched successfully, separated form the booster and are on their way to L2.
Not as dramatic as a shuttle launch but hopefully some good science.

http://www.esa.int/images/_SCO6143_large,0.jpg
 
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  • #35
I keep hearing that this repair mission is particularly dangerous because there is a large amount of debris in that orbit. If so, then why is the Hubble there?
 
  • #36
LEO is a popular neighbourhood, Hubble is also limited to being in an orbit that the shuttle can reach which isn't ideal for a bunch of other reasons.
It's not so much specifically Hubble but there are lots of things at that sort of orbit, the collision a couple of months ago didn't help
 
  • #37
NASA said:
Due to the crew sleeping an hour later, the Hubble mission's timeline also will shift one hour to the right.

http://twitter.com/nasa

:rolleyes:
 
  • #38
Hubble EVA videos - in high resolution!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPVIbHFP_s4

 
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  • #39
mgb_phys said:
LEO is a popular neighbourhood, Hubble is also limited to being in an orbit that the shuttle can reach which isn't ideal for a bunch of other reasons.
It's not so much specifically Hubble but there are lots of things at that sort of orbit, the collision a couple of months ago didn't help

Soooooo, I guess that normally the shuttle is at lower and safer altitudes, and the Hubble required a higher altitude, so a compromise was required that left Hubble in a somewhat undesirable orbit wrt the risk of a collision?
 
  • #40
Well the ideal place to put Hubble is something like L2 but that's 1.5M km away so a bit tricky. Other than that - the higher the better, the lower you are the more drag the more the Earth gets in the way and the low inclination orbit from the cape means it hits the SAA.
The height is a bit of a compromise - of the first set of shuttles only a couple could reach it (IIRC) which caused some more delays

Collision wise there's nothing particularly bad about Hubble's orbit that 10km up or down would really help.
 
  • #41
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iTXU_Tjsa2sPYDLX--U8e4eS1TtQ
CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (AFP) — NASA on Saturday further delayed the return to Earth of the space shuttle Atlantis and its seven-man crew because of poor weather.

Attempts to land the shuttle, following a successful mission to repair the Hubble telescope, had to be completely abandoned on Friday because of inclement conditions at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

NASA said it had decided not to use the first window of opportunity on Saturday, scheduled for 9:16 am (1316 GMT), for the same reason.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/media/ALeqM5gDr6KtQc4g7DP2I9IVpZbalGCsbg?size=l

NASA said:
The next two landing opportunities are at Edwards Air Force Base in California at 10:45 a.m. or Kennedy again at 10:54 a.m.

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/launch/landing_blog.html

NASA said:
For a 10:45aET landing at Edwardds, the deorbit burn would occur at 9:29a. Mission Control continues to monitor weather at Kennedy though.
http://twitter.com/nasa
 
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  • #42
NASA said:
"Go" for Edwards Deorbit Burn
Mission control at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston just gave the astronauts aboard Atlantis a "go" for the deorbit burn on orbit 197, putting them on course for a 11:39 a.m. touchdown in California. This firing of the two orbital maneuvering system engines will slow the shuttle enough to begin the glide back to Earth.

Atlantis Looks Toward California Landing
Mission control has decided a Florida landing today is a "no go" due to weather around the landing site but they will continue to target the landing at Edwards on the 197th orbit, putting touchdown in California at 11:39 a.m. Deorbit burn would come at 10:24 a.m.

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/launch/landing_blog.html
 
  • #43
Oh, sweet - I'm going to be in Orlando next week. Maybe I'll get to see it fly back!
 
  • #44
Burn is complete and the shuttle is maneuvering to nose-first position for atmospheric entry.
 
  • #46
Welcome home!
 
  • #47
Safely down - perfect landing.
 
  • #48


drankin said:
I thought we already fixed hubble? What's wrong with it?

is he having a laugh?
 

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