Watching the Amazing Space Mission this Week!
NASA has launched the shuttle Atlantis along with seven astronauts for a mission to service the great space telescope Hubble! Error is not an option in this final maintenance operation for the shuttle and its crew. This journey to the 11-ton Hubble is more risky as the telescope orbits at almost twice the height of the ISS. Dodging space debris or micrometeorites are only part of this risk. Maintenance of the Hubble will include five space walks lasting up to seven hours each where crew members plan to replace the six gyroscopes, batteries and upgrade its optical instruments. A new imaging camera and Cosmic origins Spectograph will be installed giving scientists the ability to study stars, planets and galaxies along with basic elements found throughout the cosmos, such as carbon and iron.
Astronauts will us IMAX 3-D cameras to document the mission giving all on Earth amazing footage of the five spacewalks. We can look forward to this release next year as the movie “Hubble 3D,” but you can watch *NOW* on space.tv 
Watch the Mission Calendar so you don’t miss the adventure.
Mission: STS-125
Orbiter: Atlantis
Primary Payload: Hubble Space Telescope Servicing Mission 4
Launch Date: May 11
Launch Time: 2:01 p.m. EDT
Launch Pad: 39A
Mission Duration: 11 days
Landing Date: May 22
Landing Time: 11:41 a.m. EDT
Landing Site: Kennedy Space Center, Florida
Inclination/Altitude: 28.5 degrees/304 nautical miles
Related Links:
High stakes in NASA’s last visit to Hubble
Hubble: From cosmic joke to cherished eye in space
Shuttle at NASA
Watch NASA TV via Space.TV
Space Shuttle News at Space-Travel.Com
