The final visit to Hubble

[iBlue]

Yes and they are in position for grapple. (a statement which somehow amuses me)

 

[MacNut]

Hubble has been birthed to Atlantis.

 

[pilotError]

I've been watching all day via the NasaTV stream.

Let's hope all goes well, I'm not ready for a premature death for this thing just yet...

 

[montycat]

This is the first launch I missed in a very long time. I can watch them from my yard or at work. It still amazes me every time. The sight and sound is incredible. I remember the Apollo program when I was a little boy. The Saturn V engine was LOUD!!! MC

 

[Abstract]

For first orbital. But I did say operational.
View attachment 170622

But if you want to count the 1981 flight I was 9...
and you are still old

I had a tail and was swimming around in a fluid 28 years ago. Damn, you're both old!

A couple of creations of mine have made it onto there

May I ask what? That's pretty cool.

 

[Teh Don Ditty]

This is the first launch I missed in a very long time. I can watch them from my yard or at work. It still amazes me every time. The sight and sound is incredible. I remember the Apollo program when I was a little boy. The Saturn V engine was LOUD!!! MC

That's one I wish I was alive for. I've always wanted to see an Apollo launch. That rocket was a thing of absolute beauty.

 

[djellison]

May I ask what? That's pretty cool.

Well- start here to get the back-story
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/mer/news/mer-20090115.html

An animation I put together of the Columbia Hills
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap080519.html
(far better version http://www.dougellison.com/?p=5 )

A dragging up of olf Galileo Earth Flyby Data
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap070514.html

I was also involved in a lot of photoshopping on this
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap051128.html

And I founded the forum that produced this
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap061017.html

For added points...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRq0sUP0KbY (Exploring Mars, a 1hr lecture by me at the Open University here in the UK)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pa3-vrCEbW0 (An encore 'Cosmic Casualty' - about why some missions fail )
http://vimeo.com/4432230 (Me giving a lecture TO people at JPL...very VERY cool)

OK - enough about me.

IT's EVA 1 DAY!!!!!!
(and the Ariane V launch of Plank and Herschel!)

 

[pilotError]

Is there a schedule of the next weeks events online?

I did a search and couldn't find anything meaningful about what EVA's were happening on what days/times.

 

[djellison]

EVA's every day, including today, for 5 days consecutively. Look for them to start at about 1200 UT, and last 6-7 hours each day.

Some great NASA TV web feeds here - http://www.neil-online.com/nasa/index.html

 

[Eidorian]

Yeah - I believe it's currently operating on something equiv to a rad hardened 486.

The two mars rovers run on RAD6000 chips, 20Mhz. MRO, in orbit now, and MSL, the next rover, runs on the RAD750 which is a PowerPC derived chip

Can't be flying around the the latest and greatest in space.

Servicing Mission 3A installed a 25 MHz 486. Spiffy!

 

[yg17]

This is the coolest thing I have ever seen: http://gizmodo.com/5255723/amateur-...age-of-atlantis-hubble-in-the-face-of-the-sun

 

[Zombie Acorn]

This is the coolest thing I have ever seen: http://gizmodo.com/5255723/amateur-...age-of-atlantis-hubble-in-the-face-of-the-sun

That is a pretty amazing shot.

 

[obeygiant]

http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/shuttle/sts-125/hires/s125e007066.jpg

 

[bartelby]

any better?

 

[Stridder44]

What's the telescope set to replace Hubble (and wiki link by chance)?

Thanks for the live feeds guys. Awesome stuff.

 

[obeygiant]

any better?

yes, thank you.

 

[MacNut]

What's the telescope set to replace Hubble (and wiki link by chance)?

Thanks for the live feeds guys. Awesome stuff.

James Webb Space Telescope

And also Advanced Technology Large-Aperture Space Telescope

There are two main space telescopes that are claimed to be successors to Hubble, as well some that lay claim to higher optical achievements.

The Advanced Technology Large-Aperture Space Telescope (AT-LAST)[128] is a proposed 8 to 16-meter (320 to 640-inch) optical space telescope that if approved, built, and launched (using the planned Ares V rocket slated for Project Constellation flights to the Moon), would be a true replacement and successor for the Hubble Space Telescope (HST); with the ability to observe and photograph astronomical objects in the optical, ultraviolet, and Infrared wavelengths, but with substantially better resolution than the Hubble.

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is a planned infrared space observatory, and lays claim to being a planned successor of Hubble. The main scientific goal is to observe the most distant objects in the universe, beyond the reach of existing instruments. JWST is a NASA-led international collaboration between NASA, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency. Formerly called the Next Generation Space Telescope (NGST), it was renamed after NASA's second administrator, James E. Webb, in 2002. The telescope's launch is planned for no earlier than June 2013. It will be launched on an Ariane 5 rocket.[129]

 

[Eidorian]

It'll be strange having it out there in L2.

 

[obeygiant]

After two days of spacewalks that ran over-schedule, astronauts John Grunsfeld and Andrew Feustel made short work of the repair of Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS), expected to be one of the most challenging tasks of the mission.

The instrument, which is actually a set of three cameras, or "channels", was one of Hubble's most widely-used devices, producing some of the telescope's most breathtaking images. But a series of electrical problems in 2006 and 2007 left it with just one working channel, sensitive to ultraviolet light.

The ACS was not designed to be repaired in orbit. To access the camera's interior, Grunsfeld had to use specialised tools to cut through a screen-like grid protecting the instrument and remove 32 screws to open a face plate. Once inside, Grunsfeld removed four circuit boards and installed a specially-designed electronics box and an external power supply.

New Scientist

Can't wait to see the new Hubble Deep Field.

 

[yg17]

Atlantis is back on the ground safely I must say though, I've been watching the landing on NASA TV, and it would be so much more entertaining if one of the astronauts gave a landing announcement over the radio...

Ladies and gentleman, welcome to Earth. Please remain seated with your seatbelts fastened until the shuttle has come to a complete stop at the gate and the captain has turned off the seatbelt sign. Please use caution when removing belongings from the overhead bins as contents may have shifted during flight. At this time, use of cellular phones is permitted, however all other personal electronic devices must remain off until we have reached the gate. If Earth is your final destination, baggage will be arriving at baggage claim 4, if you are connecting to another flight, please check the boards in the terminal for connecting flight information. We know you have a choice in flying and we thank you for flying NASA and we hope we will see you soon on a future NASA flight.

 

[Teh Don Ditty]

Beautiful landing. Glad they returned safely.

 

[Sesshi]

Beautiful landing. Glad they returned safely.

Can't wait for the day when we don't even bother talking about how good the landings were. I want to have a vacation on a moonbase, dammit!

 

[Teh Don Ditty]

^Agreed. Totally wanna be living up in space.