The Hubble Space Telescope is receiving visitors for the final time now that space shuttle Atlantis is in orbit to begin the fifth servicing mission to the telescope. With shuttle Endeavour standing by at launch pad B in case a rescue mission is needed, Atlantis blasted into orbit from Kennedy Space Center today at 2:01:56 pm. EDT. During the next 11 days the shuttle's seven-member crew will conduct five spacewalks to repair and upgrade the iconic observatory.
COMPLETE STS-125 MISSION COVERAGE STS-125 ATLANTIS PHOTO GALLERIES READ: NASA TV MISSION TELEVISION SCHEDULE READ: HST SERVICING MISSION 4 MEDIA GUIDE READ: STS-125 PRESS KIT STS-125 FACT SHEET VIDEO: ASCENT TEAM REPLAY VIDEO: ATLANTIS PRELAUNCH PROCESSING VIDEO: ASTROVAN MAKES ITS WAY TO THE LAUNCH PAD VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 1 HIGHLIGHTS VIDEO: EXTERNAL TANK FALL AWAY FROM ATLANTIS - CREW VIDEO VIDEO: ICE TEAM CAMERA LAUNCH REPLAYS VIDEO: RMS HEAT-SHIELD INSPECTION VIDEO: LAUNCH VIDEO: LAUNCH ENGINEERING REPLAYS VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAYS VIDEO: SHORTER LAUNCH CLIP VIDEO: OUR VIEW OF LAUNCH FROM THE KSC PRESS SITE VIDEO: PAYLOAD BAY DOOR OPENING VIDEO: PAYLOAD PRELAUNCH PROCESSING VIDEO: POSTLAUNCH PRESS CONFERENCE VIDEO: RMS CHECKOUT VIDEO: CREW WALKOUT AND BOARDS THE ASTROVAN VIDEO: OUR VIDEO OF CREW WALKOUT ALL-ACCESS SUBSCRIBERS: ASCENT FLIGHT CONTROL TEAM REPLAY - 1200 KBPS ALL-ACCESS SUBSCRIBERS: FLIGHT DAY 1 HIGHLIGHTS - 1200 KBPS ALL-ACCESS SUBSCRIBERS: CREW VIDEO OF EXTERNAL TANK - 1200 KBPS ALL-ACCESS SUBSCRIBERS: LAUNCH - 1200 KBPS ALL-ACCESS SUBSCRIBERS: LAUNCH ENGINEERING REPLAYS - 1200 KBPS ALL-ACCESS SUBSCRIBERS: RMS CHECKOUT - 1200 KBPS ALL-ACCESS SUBSCRIBERS: LAUNCH REPLAYS - 1200 KBPS ALL-ACCESS SUBSCRIBERS: MORE LAUNCH REPLAYS - 1200 KBPS ALL-ACCESS SUBSCRIBERS: COMPLETE NASA TV LAUNCH COVERAGE ALL-ACCESS SUBSCRIBERS: DOWNLOAD THE ENTIRE NASA TV LAUNCH DAY COVERAGE - PART 1 (60 MIN, 1200 KBPS) ALL-ACCESS SUBSCRIBERS: DOWNLOAD THE ENTIRE NASA TV LAUNCH DAY COVERAGE - PART 2 (60 MIN, 1200 KBPS) ALL-ACCESS SUBSCRIBERS: DOWNLOAD THE ENTIRE NASA TV LAUNCH DAY COVERAGE - PART 3 (60 MIN, 1200 KBPS) ALL-ACCESS SUBSCRIBERS: DOWNLOAD THE ENTIRE NASA TV LAUNCH DAY COVERAGE - PART 4 (60 MIN, 1200 KBPS) ALL-ACCESS SUBSCRIBERS: DOWNLOAD THE ENTIRE NASA TV LAUNCH DAY COVERAGE - PART 5 (60 MIN, 1200 KBPS) ALL-ACCESS SUBSCRIBERS: DOWNLOAD THE ENTIRE NASA TV LAUNCH DAY COVERAGE - PART 6 (60 MIN, 1200 KBPS) ALL-ACCESS SUBSCRIBERS: DOWNLOAD THE ENTIRE NASA TV LAUNCH DAY COVERAGE - PART 7 (60 MIN, 1200 KBPS) ALL-ACCESS SUBSCRIBERS: DOWNLOAD THE ENTIRE NASA TV LAUNCH DAY COVERAGE - PART 8 (60 MIN, 1200 KBPS) ALL-ACCESS SUBSCRIBERS: DOWNLOAD THE ENTIRE NASA TV LAUNCH DAY COVERAGE - PART 9 (60 MIN, 1200 KBPS) ALL-ACCESS SUBSCRIBERS: DOWNLOAD THE ENTIRE NASA TV LAUNCH DAY COVERAGE - PART 10 (60 MIN, 1200 KBPS) ALL-ACCESS SUBSCRIBERS: DOWNLOAD THE ENTIRE NASA TV LAUNCH DAY COVERAGE - PART 11 (60 MIN, 1200 KBPS) ALL-ACCESS SUBSCRIBERS: DOWNLOAD THE ENTIRE NASA TV LAUNCH DAY COVERAGE - PART 12 (60 MIN, 1200 KBPS) ALL-ACCESS SUBSCRIBERS: DOWNLOAD THE ENTIRE NASA TV LAUNCH DAY COVERAGE - PART 13 (60 MIN, 1200 KBPS) ALL-ACCESS SUBSCRIBERS: DOWNLOAD THE ENTIRE NASA TV LAUNCH DAY COVERAGE - PART 14 (60 MIN, 1200 KBPS) Riding the fury of its three liquid-fueled main engines and two giant solid rocket boosters, Atlantis ascended rapidly through the afternoon sky above Florida, leaving behind only its smoke and ear-splitting roar. Atlantis' launch came following an extremely smooth countdown punctuated by few minor glitches. As is often the case for launches taking place in Florida, the real question was the weather. However, this time, it wasn't the weather in Florida that caused the NASA launch team worries, but, rather the weather forecast at the space shuttle's emergency landing strip in Spain. In the event a serious problem prevents the shuttle from reaching orbit, the crew has the option to abort the launch and land at one of several emergency landing sites overseas, including ones in Spain and France. The trajectory for the STS-125 ascent restricted the options for Atlantis to the lone site at Moron, Spain - the only runway within reach of the shuttle. Because the emergency sites have to accommodate a safe landing, weather restrictions are the same as for a Return To Launch Site abort in which the shuttle would turn around and land back at Kennedy Space Center's runway. As the countdown progressed from the T-43 hour mark Friday, the forecast called for a 40-60% chance of unacceptable weather at the emergency runway, with thick clouds and rain moving across Spain. Fortunately, the weather remained acceptable and, by the hold at T-9 minutes, Moron reported it was go for launch. Atlantis is commanded by shuttle veteran Scott Altman, making his second visit to Hubble. Next to him in the righthand seat is rookie pilot Greg Johnson. Joining them on the flight deck is mission specialist Megan McArthur, also making her first trip to space. The crew for STS-125 is rounded out by the four mission specialists who will walk in space to repair and upgrade the telescope. Mike Massimino is on his second Hubble servicing mission. John Grunsfeld is flying to the telescope for the third time. Andrew Feustel and Michael Good are making their first spaceflights. Shortly after Atlantis reached orbit, the crew performed an initial inspection of the orbiter's heat shield using the shuttle's robot arm. Early indications are that the thermal protection system came through launch without any significant damage, although it will take engineers on the ground several days to analyze all of the launch and on-orbit inspection imagery. NASA is paying extra special attention to the inspection process on this flight, the only post-Columbia shuttle mission without the ability to use the space station as a safe haven in case problems during launch or on orbit prevent the orbiter from re-entering and landing safely. Since Hubble and ISS circle the Earth in different orbits, the crew would be unable to fly to the station and wait out a rescue in case of problems. The issue of orbital debris is of particular concern since Hubble flies nearly 100 miles higher than the space station where there is significantly more debris. On a typical mission to the space station, the shuttle risks approximately 1 in 300 odds of a serious impact with space debris. At the higher orbit of Hubble, Atlantis faces a risk on the order of 1 in 229, still small but significantly higher than a station mission. Because of the increased risk of orbital debris impacts and the lack of the safe haven of the space station, shuttle Endeavour will be standing by on launch pad 39-B, ready to mount a rescue mission on just days' notice in case Atlantis can't return to Earth. As Atlantis lifts off, Endeavour will be poised to launch on a rescue mission, designated STS-400. Technicians and engineers at Kennedy Space Center will prepare the ship for launch under the operating assumption that a rescue will be necessary. As Atlantis' astronauts are repairing Hubble, Endeavour will begin the three-day countdown for launch at the T-43 hour mark. When the count reaches the standard built-in hold at 27 hours, the launch team will stop and wait for the rescue call which could launch as early as the morning of flight day 13. After Atlantis is cleared for re-entry, Endeavour's countdown will be called off and the vehicle released to begin preparations for its space station assembly mission currently targeted to liftoff June 13. On flight day three, Atlantis will rendezvous with the telescope and the astronauts will use the orbiter's robot arm to pluck the satellite from orbit and berth it in the Flight Support Structure inside the shuttle's payload bay. Rendezvous will take place as Atlantis and Hubble soar 304 miles above Earth. Prior to final approach, in concert with the Space Telescope Operations Control Center (STOCC) at Goddard Spaceflight Center, Mission Control will command the telescope to stow its high gain antennas and close the aperture door. As Atlantis approaches the telescope, Altman will control the thrusters to avoid contaminating Hubble with propulsion residue. As the distance between Atlantis and Hubble decreases to approximately 200 feet, the STOCC ground crew will command the telescope to perform a final roll maneuver to position itself for grappling. The Solar Arrays will remain fully deployed parallel to Hubble's optical axis. Mission Specialist McArthur will operate the robotic arm to grapple the telescope. Using a camera mounted at the berthing ring of the Flight Support Structure (FSS) platform in the cargo bay, she will maneuver the telescope to the FSS, where it will be berthed and latched. Once the telescope is secured, the crew will remotely engage the electrical umbilical and switch Hubble from internal power to external power from Atlantis. Johnson will then maneuver the Shuttle so that the spacecraft's solar arrays face the sun, recharging the telescope's six onboard NiH2 batteries. The five spacewalks of the STS-125 mission will extend the Hubble Space Telescope's life and leave it with new equipment that will improve the data that it is able to send back to scientists here on Earth. One hundred sixteen new spacewalk tools were developed for the work to be done on this mission. John Grunsfeld, the lead spacewalker for the mission, will suit up for the first, third and fifth spacewalks in a spacesuit marked with solid red stripes. He is an experienced spacewalker with five extravehicular activities performed in support of Hubble during STS-103 and STS-109. Mike Massimino will wear a spacesuit with a dashed red and white stripe for the mission's second and fourth spacewalks. He has two Hubble-servicing spacewalks under his belt, performed on STS-109. Feustel and Good will perform their first spacewalks. Feustel will participate in the first, third and fifth spacewalks and wear an all white spacesuit, while Good will wear a spacesuit with horizontal red stripes for spacewalks two and four. The four spacewalkers will spend a planned combined total of 31 hours and 40 minutes outside of space shuttle Atlantis on flight days 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8. (The Spacearium / Space Media Corporation)
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