NASA Sets May Date For Hubble Telescope Repairs

Space Agency Aims For May 12 Launch Of Space Shuttle To Refurbish, Upgrade Hubble Telescope

(AP)  NASA has set a May date for its space shuttle mission to fix the Hubble Space Telescope for a final time.

The space agency Thursday announced that it is aiming to launch the shuttle Atlantis on May 12 for what would be an 11-day repair and upgrade mission to the $10 billion space telescope.

NASA was going to fix Hubble in October, but weeks before the shuttle launch, a glitch in Hubble's science computer forced a delay. The problem was fixed but NASA wants to fly up a new backup. Testing of the spare part has shown problems, causing a delay of at least seven months.