May 14, 2009
Spacewalk A Success For Atlantis Crew
Astronauts Deal With Stubborn Bolt, But Install Powerful New Camera
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Play CBS Video Video Hubble Repair To Begin A piano-sized camera will be installed by astronauts during a high-orbit spacewalk to give the telescope a longer life. Space debris adds a level of risk to the mission, reports Daniel Sieberg.
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Video Fixing The Hubble Telescope Up in space, the Atlantis crew made a spectacular catch of the Hubble telescope. The crew aims to fix Hubble, which has been taking picture of far off galaxies for 19 years. Daniel Sieberg reports.
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Video Atlantis Shuttle Damaged As the space shuttle Atlantis remains en route to repair the Hubble Telescope, Daniel Sieberg reports that the shuttle itself is in need of repairs as the crew has discovered damaged heat shield tiles.
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In this image from NASA TV astronauts John Grunsfeld, left, and Drew Feustel leave the shuttle Atlantis airlock to upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope during a spacewalk, May 14, 2009. (AP Photo/NASA TV)
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In this image from NASA TV the Hubble Space Telescope is shown being held by the robotic arm from Shuttle Atlantis, Wednesday, May 13, 2009. (AP Photo/NASA TV)
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Interactive 50 Years In Space A look at what has happened, and what hasn't, since the launch of a Russian satellite named Sputnik.
The repair job — all the more dangerous because of the high, debris-ridden orbit — got off to a slow start.
John Grunsfeld and Andrew Feustel had trouble removing the old camera from the telescope because of a stubborn bolt. They fetched extra tools, but none seemed to work.
Finally, Mission Control urged the astronauts to use as much force as possible to free the bolt.
"OK, here we go," Feustel said. "I think I've got it. It turned. It definitely turned." And then: "Woo-hoo, it's moving out!"
The effort put the astronauts a little behind schedule in their first spacewalk of shuttle Atlantis' mission. In all, five high-risk spacewalks are planned to fix Hubble's broken parts and plug in higher-tech science instruments.
Atlantis and its crew are traveling in an especially high orbit, 350 miles above Earth, that is littered with pieces of smashed satellites. A 4-inch piece of space junk passed within a couple miles of the shuttle Wednesday night, just hours after the shuttle grabbed Hubble. Even something that small could cause big damage.
For the first time, another shuttle is on standby in case it needs to rush to the rescue.
Once the sticky bolt was freed, Feustel pulled out the old camera, the size of a baby grand piano.
"This has been in there for 16 years, Drew," said Grunsfeld.
"It didn't want to come out," Feustel replied.
The spacewalkers followed up with the installation of the replacement camera. "Let there be light," Grunsfeld said as ground controllers checked the power hookups. Everything tested fine.
Also on their to-do list: replacing a computer data unit that broke down last fall, and hooking up a docking ring so a robotic craft can guide the telescope into the Pacific years from now.
The powerful new camera is about the size of a grand piano and 30 times more powerful than the old one. It will allow scientists the chance to look back more than 13 billion years to when galaxies were just starting to form, reports CBS science and technology correspondent Daniel Sieberg.
"One of the holy grails of modern astronomy is to understand how stars first form and arrange themselves into the galaxies we see today," said CBS News space consultant Bill Harwood.
Not only can the camera peer deep into space, but it's also multi-spectral - allowing scientists to make observations in the infrared, visible and ultraviolet spectra, NASA astronaut Mike Gernhardt told CBS' The Early Show from the Johnson Space Center in Houston.
"It's a really special camera," he said.
The old one was installed in December 1993 during the first Hubble repair mission, to remedy the telescope's blurred vision. It had corrective lenses already in place and, because of the astounding images it captured, quickly became known as the camera that saved Hubble. It's also been dubbed the people's telescope because its cosmic pictures seem to turn up everywhere.
The camera — which has taken more than 135,000 observations — is destined for the Smithsonian Institution.
Grunsfeld, the chief repairman with two previous Hubble missions under his work belt, took the lead on the camera replacement as well as the work to install a new science data-handling device. He sounded awe-struck as ever. "Ah, this is fantastic," he said as he floated outside, the bus-size telescope looming overhead.
Hubble's original data handler, which was launched with the telescope 19 years ago, failed in September, just two weeks before Atlantis was supposed to take off on this fifth and final servicing mission. The breakdown caused all picture-taking to cease and prompted NASA to delay the shuttle flight by seven months.
Flight controllers managed to get the telescope working again, but NASA decided to replace the faulty computer unit. The goal is to keep Hubble running for another five to 10 years.
Another two-man team will venture out Friday for the second spacewalk.
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Add a Comment See all 19 Comments
- what a waste of American money!
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- If the Hubble telescope is in such a high, debris-ridden orbit, then why does it not show massive damage from all the debris? I think NASA is creating more drama than is justified.
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- The only launch vehicle we have that can do things like this.. No chance that they'll get rid of the Shuttle. Now if they had gone along with the SpacePlane (Aurora ?) we'd have all this capability and a lot more!
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- the wants of a few outnumber the needs of the many. Live Long and Prosper
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- Obama is still blowing our money!
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- So cool. Can't wait for the next generation of space going crafts.
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- i like the way newspeople describe things like the camera is the size of a baby grand piano. or how about when the artic ice shelf broke off it was the size of delaware. or it was heavier than 3 747's or was it 6 737's or was it longer than 5 football fields.
why can't they use pounds tons inches, feet miles ect.ect.ect. - Reply to this comment
- It seems that the idiots who make all the wacko comments and talk to no one but themselves don't get "it" and are really wasting their lives, doesn't it? Kinda reminds me of junior high when all the guys who were sure they were "cool" would sit around telling stupid jokes and making spit balls---talk about spaced junk! Space is the final frontier, the last badlands, or whatever else you wish to call it, and what we learn there may help us here on the ever-shrinking planet. May the astronauts and crew return safely. Marine 111, number1GI, and daffy64, you get "it"!
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- You two have spacejunk floating around in your empty gourds. What has this story got to do with religion?????????????????????????????????????????????????
Posted by Marine111 at 1:16 PM : May 14, 2009
Nothing. They probably are the same ones that bring politics into every story that has nothing to do with that either. - Reply to this comment
- global_eye More total religious nonsense. How can anyone believe such utter drivel? What's extraordinary is that supposedly intelligent people will accept this without even questioning it. But wait, it's religious silliness and we're not supposed to question that, are we? Just accept and "have faith". How disgusting all religions are, They're a scam upon mankind that makes governments look puny.
Posted by Slrman at 6:26 AM : May 14, 2009
Sirman- How do I say this????
Amen, Brother!! - Reply to this comment
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