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chaloobi
SFN Regular
1620 Posts |
 Posted - 01/08/2008 : 08:38:41
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NASA released details of Hubble's repair and upgrade. Sweet.
Hubble Tune-Up Plans Detailed Jeanna Bryner
Staff Writer
SPACE.com
AUSTIN, Texas — The orbiting space telescope that just won't quit collecting gobs of celestial data well beyond its expected twilight is set for a major tune-up and upgrade, NASA scientists announced today here at a meeting of the American Astronomical Society.
The fifth servicing mission will also be the Hubble Space Telescope's last.
Word here today is that the Space Shuttle Atlantis would lift off in August with a crew of seven astronauts, a cargo of equipment, tools and new instruments for Hubble.
Orbiting at about 350 miles (563 kilometers) above Earth, Hubble is above the atmosphere and doesn't have to contend with the shifting pockets of air that distort images made by ground-based telescopes. This atmospheric distortion is the reason stars appear to twinkle.
The clear view has meant, for one, that over Hubble's 16-plus years in orbit, it has sent back a spectacular photo album of sci-fi-like jets from black holes, galaxies in all stages of evolution, and snapshots of planets in our own solar system.
"Hubble is, without exaggeration, a national treasure," said NASA's Alan Stern, associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate in Washington, D.C., "and all of NASA is looking forward to seeing it receive this tune-up and upgrade."
The public's love for Hubble along with political pressure have both played rolls in NASA's decision to service the observatory, a mission deemed risky compared to other shuttle ventures.
Hubble Hugger
During the 11-day shuttle mission, and five spacewalks, astronauts will install two new science instruments plus a set of gyroscopes to help stabilize the telescope, as well as batteries and thermal blankets to keep the observatory operating until at least 2013.
Leading the spacewalks will be self-labeled "Hubble Hugger," John Grunsfeld, who told SPACE.com last year he would like to be on the mission.
"As both an astronaut and an astronomer, the opportunity to go back to Hubble is more than a dream come true," said Grunsfeld, who will be the mission's lead spacewalker. However, Grunsfeld notes, "This mission promises to be quite challenging."
For instance, astronauts will attempt the first-ever on-orbit repair of two existing instruments, the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) and the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS).
Installed on Hubble in February 1997, the STIS separates incoming light into its constituent colors, giving astronomers a chemical map of a distant object. Since deployed, STIS has been critical in the confirmation of black holes at the centers of galaxies, made the first discovery of an atmosphere around an exoplanet and helped confirm the age of the universe.
Better science
The two additions to Hubble's science cargo include the Wide Field Camera 3, a "panchromatic" camera, and the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS).
The COS will probe the large-scale structure of the universe, the so-called cosmic web, in which strands of galaxies transect seemingly empty space like a gargantuan three-dimensional spider web. It is the universe's invisible "glue" called dark matter, which is thought to make up about 85 percent of all matter in the universe, that astronomers say gives the web its structure.
Astronomers infer the existence of the cosmic web just as a child might know a Christmas tree exists by looking at the colorful lights that outline its branches. Instead of little bulbs, the stars and galaxies trace out the cosmic web.
In the end, scientists expect to breathe new and improved life into Hubble.
"Our goal for this mission is to leave Hubble at the apex of its scientific capabilities," said Leckrone, Hubble senior project scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. The addition of new instruments along with repairs of others should give astronomers a full "tool box" for resolving many cosmic conundrums, Leckrone said.
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link: http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20080108/sc_space/hubbletuneupplansdetailed
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-Chaloobi
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chaloobi
SFN Regular
1620 Posts |
Posted - 01/08/2008 : 12:56:33 [Permalink]
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Sonofabitch!
Hubble Space Telescope upgrade on hold
By Irene Klotz
CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - A long-delayed and nearly canceled upgrade to the Hubble Space Telescope will have to wait until NASA completes delivery of three modules to the International Space Station, officials said on Tuesday.
The delay of shuttle Atlantis' mission to the space station, caused by fuel sensor failures in December, means Atlantis likely will not be ready for the Hubble mission planned for August. NASA has two other higher-priority flights for its space shuttles as well
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Link: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080108/sc_nm/space_hubble_dc_2 |
-Chaloobi
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| Edited by - chaloobi on 01/08/2008 12:57:23 |
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Hubble's Upgrade Apparently for Real
