31-October-2006, 05:28 PM
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Vulcan Moderator
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Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Greenbelt, MD
Posts: 24,225
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Hubble Saved: NASA Approves Shuttle Flight to Service Space Telescope
Quote:
Hubble-bound shuttle astronauts have a daunting task ahead of them. Their tasks include:
* The installation of Wide Field Camera-3, a new camera to amplify Hubble’s vision.
* The replacement of Hubble’s batteries, some thermal insulation and a broken guidance sensor.
* Refurbishment of the Hubble’s vital attitude controlling gyroscopes used to orient the space telescope. Only two of the six are in operation. Two are held as spares while two others are broken.
* The installation of the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph and unprecedented repair of Hubble’s Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS), which was never designed to be worked on in space.
* Using the shuttle’s engines to boost Hubble into a slightly higher orbit.
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