Final repair/enhancement mission on Hubble

[Muse]

I read the articles in yesterday's paper and am amazed at this mission. I'm not a NASA buff, but it seems to me that this mission is one of the toughest ever if not the toughest. They are fixing and/or replacing components that were never intended to be serviced or replaced, also installing new equipment. Some of the things they intend to do really push the envelope of what is possible.

Shuttle to blast off for final Hubble fix

 

[PottedMeat]

Uh if it was in the local paper I'd think that's local time - so yeah: On Monday, May 11, at 2:01 PM EDT, the space shuttle Atlantis will lift off for the final service mission to the Hubble Space Telescope.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: PottedMeat
Uh if it was in the local paper I'd think that's local time - so yeah: On Monday, May 11, at 2:01 PM EDT, the space shuttle Atlantis will lift off for the final service mission to the Hubble Space Telescope.

Based on the article I read this is a real hold your breath mission. Plenty could go wrong. They actually have another Shuttle on a launch pad in anticipation of a possible rescue mission. Things are dangerous out there in that 350 mile high orbit. Lots of space junk/debris.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Yeah this could be tricky, but if we're going to work up there we need to learn how to do things we never really intended. Props to them.

 

[Fear No Evil]

Hopefully Obama's budget cuts do not impact the safety of the NASA program. These guys are true heros and deserve more money and not less. I was supposed to go to the launch today but I am unable to go. This launch was supposed to go off in October last year.. figures the one day they reschedule it for I have plans I cannot move.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Originally posted by: Fear No Evil
Hopefully Obama's budget cuts do not impact the safety of the NASA program.

From NASA:

The President's Fiscal Year 2010 Budget provides $18.7 billion for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) which, when combined with the $1 billion provided for NASA in the Recovery Act, is more than $2.4 billion above the 2008 level.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: Fear No Evil
Hopefully Obama's budget cuts do not impact the safety of the NASA program. These guys are true heros and deserve more money and not less. I was supposed to go to the launch today but I am unable to go. This launch was supposed to go off in October last year.. figures the one day they reschedule it for I have plans I cannot move.

Agreed, this whole affair is heroic and inspiring. More on the mission:

Within Hubble, a Plethora of Instruments

Too bad you can't attend the launch. That would have to be a thrill!

 

[PottedMeat]

NY Times Science section Animation:

http://www.nytimes.com/interac...e/20090505-Hubble.html

 

[dphantom]

Good luck and best wishes. :thumbsup:

 

[Vette73]

Cool.

Kinda wish they would trash it and come up with a new one based on current tech. The old one was made in the 70's-early 80's. And even then it was "broke" when they sent it up.

In 99 they replaced the computer with a high speed one, a 486 with 2meg of ram.

 

[heyheybooboo]

Originally posted by: Marlin1975
Cool.

Kinda wish they would trash it and come up with a new one based on current tech. The old one was made in the 70's-early 80's. And even then it was "broke" when they sent it up.

In 99 they replaced the computer with a high speed one, a 486 with 2meg of ram.

Upgraded Hubble

I just saw a close-up of Atlantis as the gangway pulled off - - - it looked rather used ...

 

[jackschmittusa]

IMHO the Hubble telescope is possibly the greatest single machine ever created for science.

 

[Vette73]

Originally posted by: heyheybooboo

Originally posted by: Marlin1975
Cool.

Kinda wish they would trash it and come up with a new one based on current tech. The old one was made in the 70's-early 80's. And even then it was "broke" when they sent it up.

In 99 they replaced the computer with a high speed one, a 486 with 2meg of ram.

Upgraded Hubble

I just saw a close-up of Atlantis as the gangway pulled off - - - it looked rather used ...

Yea but their upgardes are still limited to the body and orignal parts.

So yea much better but a new design and body setup could be even better. That and it could be that the reapirs don;t take or soemthign worse happens and now we have nothing.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: jackschmittusa
IMHO the Hubble telescope is possibly the greatest single machine ever created for science.

The scientific payoff has been astonishing... just read some of the articles about the contributions to astronomy, cosmology, astrophysics, etc. The articles are fascinating reading.

 

[runestone]

Originally posted by: Muse

Originally posted by: jackschmittusa
IMHO the Hubble telescope is possibly the greatest single machine ever created for science.

The scientific payoff has been astonishing... just read some of the articles about the contributions to astronomy, cosmology, astrophysics, etc. The articles are fascinating reading.

Indeed, and this upgrade mission is going to be a tough one.
I've never heard or read anyone from another country besides ours say even the simplest thank you or compliment for the huge dollar cost of this science mission, not to mention any of the others, that the USA totally paid for and shared without asking for any help or compensation for the science data returned.
What bastards us Yanks are.

 

[MovingTarget]

Originally posted by: Marlin1975
Cool.

Kinda wish they would trash it and come up with a new one based on current tech. The old one was made in the 70's-early 80's. And even then it was "broke" when they sent it up.

In 99 they replaced the computer with a high speed one, a 486 with 2meg of ram.

Well, to be fair, it takes a while longer to certify tech for use in a low-gravity environment. You can't strictly compare a 486 in space to one here on the ground. Besides, we are launching new telescopes iirc, including the Jim Webb, previously the Chandra Xray Observatory, etc. Hubble will provide ground-breaking data for years to come. I only wish it was in a more servicable orbit.

 

[dainthomas]

I watched the coverage that the Science Channel had of the launch and repair mission. They had some retarded Australian guy trying to interview a NASA astrophysicist and an astronaut. You could almost visibly see the astrophysicist trying to throttle her brain down to talk at a level the interviewer could understand. And he still managed to repeat a bunch of questions and looked off camera several times with a kind of vacant stare. Funny stuff.

At least they did a good job of explaining the training process and what was being repaired/replaced. Plus watching rockets blast off is always a win.