Astronauts To Give Hubble One Last Hug
Inside Hubble's Toolbox
The Hubble Space Telescope is about to get a long-awaited makeover, as NASA astronauts head out on a final mission to repair the aging but beloved observatory.
Space Shuttle Atlantis blasted off Monday just after 2 p.m. ET. Atlantis is carrying with it 180 special tools — 116 of them designed just for this mission, which involves tricky repairs to two science instruments that were never intended to be fixed in space.
The famous silver telescope hasn't been visited by an astronaut repair crew in more than seven years, and some of its instruments have started failing, diminishing the science it can do.
"I liken this to the situation of a champion athlete who is playing hurt, who has an injury, is playing through the pain, still doing very well, but now, by golly, it's time to go off, get our surgery, and get back to 100 percent," says David Leckrone, senior project scientist for Hubble at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland.
Actually, he says, after this mission, Hubble will be even better than 100 percent: The 19-year-old telescope will be more powerful than it has ever been before.
Astronauts will go on five spacewalks to install new science instruments, repair old ones and replace key items like batteries and gyroscopes.
The Most Devastating Day
This mission to Hubble was originally supposed to have happened back in 2004. But in 2003, space shuttle Columbia disintegrated during its return to Earth, killing the astronauts on board.
"We were mourning, but then, beyond mourning, looking ahead, what did that mean for the future of Hubble and our servicing mission?" Leckrone says. "We figured, well, it would cause a two- to three-year postponement, probably."
Instead of a delay, NASA's chief decided that astronauts were never going to Hubble again.
"To be told by Administrator [Sean] O'Keefe that he didn't think it was safe enough to do this mission, and he canceled it, was about the most devastating day I've ever had in my life," Leckrone says.
Without routine maintenance, Hubble slowly breaks down in the harsh environment of space.
Researchers didn't want to lose one of the most famous science instruments ever — one that has transformed their view of the universe. "I don't want to seem arrogant, but I truly believe that a hundred years from now, people will still remember Hubble and what it did," Leckrone says.
The science community spent about a year thinking about a repair robot. That idea got the ax, too. But finally, the next NASA administrator, Michael Griffin, did a careful safety analysis and decided that astronauts could take the space shuttle on this last trip to Hubble.
"The adrenalin is pumping far higher than it should be right now," Leckrone says. "We should be calmer."
The Next Generation Telescopes
If all goes well, the upgrades and repairs should keep Hubble going until at least 2014. After that, if it breaks, there won't be another repair mission, says Edward Weiler, associate administrator for NASA's science mission directorate.
He says NASA is getting ready to retire the space shuttle program, so NASA will have no way of getting to Hubble. And the agency isn't building any new spare parts. "Nothing is being built for further servicing, because to spend money on that would mean we wouldn't be able to build the next generation telescopes," Weiler says.
For example, NASA is currently building the James Webb Space Telescope, a large new observatory that is scheduled to launch in 2014 and will orbit about a million miles from Earth.
"As hard as it is for somebody like me who's worked on Hubble for 31 years to say that, you know, 'You've got to let go,' it's time to let go," Weiler says. "Not now. Not three years from now, hopefully not five years from now, maybe seven or eight or nine years from now."
'Hubble Needs A Hug'
NASA has assembled a dream team of astronauts for the Hubble repair. Three of the seven astronauts who will ride on space shuttle Atlantis have come face-to-face with the telescope before. Astrophysicist John Grunsfeld has been to Hubble twice and is glad to be going again. "Hubble needs a hug, and we're ready to go," he says.
He notes that every astronaut who goes to Hubble leaves a mark on the observatory. "Even just putting your hand on the telescope affects the surface coating juts a little bit," he says, "and so you can see handprints and things like that, and so it's clear that people have been working on this telescope."
Another astronaut who will do spacewalks and repair work on this mission, Mike Massimino, says he recently saw a good friend who has worked on the Hubble project for a long time. "He said, 'Make sure, your last time on that telescope, you give it a pat for me,' " Massimino says.
So, he will give Hubble a special goodbye pat on behalf of all the people who have worked with it. "I hope that that's going to be in my mind as I'm letting go of the telescope for the last time, my one last handshake with it," Massimino says.
The astronauts will spend about a week with Hubble. One of their chores will be to attach a kind of ring that a future spacecraft can dock with, to pull the telescope out of orbit when its long and celebrated life finally comes to an end.
9(MDAyNzUwMDI2MDEyNTA3MTU5NzcyNTQyNA004))
MELISSA BLOCK, host:
From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Michele Norris.
ROBERT SIEGEL, host:
And I'm Robert Siegel.
The Hubble Space Telescope hasn't had any visitors in over seven years.
Unidentified Man: And liftoff of Space Shuttle Atlantis on a final visit to enhance the vision of Hubble.
SIEGEL: Now, Atlantis is on its way to give Hubble one last tune-up. The repair mission is bittersweet. It marks the beginning of the end for the famous space telescope, as NPR's Nell Greenfieldboyce explains.
NELL GREENFIELDBOYCE: The science community has been waiting for this mission for a long time. It was originally planned for 2004, but in 2003, Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during its return to Earth, killing the astronauts on board.
Mr. DAVID LECKRONE (Senior Project Scientist for Hubble, Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA): We were mourning, but then beyond mourning, looking ahead, what did that mean for the future of Hubble and our servicing mission? We figured, well, it would cause a two or three-year postponement, probably.
GREENFIELDBOYCE: David Leckrone is a senior scientist at NASA for the Hubble project. He says instead of a delay, this repair mission was canceled.
Mr. LECKRONE: To be told, you know, by Administrator O'Keefe that he didn't think it was safe enough to do this mission, and he canceled it, was about the most devastating day I've ever had in my life.
GREENFIELDBOYCE: Hubble is possibly the most famous science instrument ever. It was launched 19 years ago and has transformed our view of the universe. It's been repaired in orbit four times before, so when the fifth visit was canceled, scientists hated to think of it slowly going silent in the cold, harsh environment of space.
A new NASA administrator eventually gave the plan the green light but only with additional safety measures, like a second rescue shuttle on the launch pad in case of trouble. Leckrone says he went from abject melancholy to extreme excitement.
Mr. LECKRONE: You know, the adrenaline is pumping far higher than it probably should be right now.
GREENFIELDBOYCE: He says even after a long time without maintenance, Hubble is still doing good science, but some instruments are partially broken.
Mr. LECKRONE: I liken this to the situation of a champion athlete who is playing hurt, still doing very well, but now, by golly, it's time to go off, get our surgery and get back to 100 percent.
GREENFIELDBOYCE: Better than 100 percent, actually. Astronauts will go on five space walks to install new instruments, repair two old ones and replace key hardware like batteries. If all goes well, the telescope will be more powerful than it's ever been. For at least another five years, it will gaze out past our galaxy. No one knows exactly how long it can keep going, but there will be no more repairs.
Ed Weiler is head of Science Missions at NASA.
Doctor EDWARD WEILER (Head of Science Mission Directorate, NASA): We are not building new gyros. We are not building new reaction wheels. We are not building spare instruments. Nothing is being built for further servicing because to spend money on that would mean we wouldn't be able to build the next generation telescopes.
GREENFIELDBOYCE: For example, NASA is currently building the James Webb Space Telescope. It will go way out into space, a million miles away from Earth.
Mr. WEILER: So at some point, you, as hard as it is for somebody like me who's worked on Hubble for 31 years to say that, you know, you've got to let go, it's time to let go. Not now, not three years from now, hopefully not five years from now, maybe seven or eight or nine years from now.
GREENFIELDBOYCE: Before the launch of Atlantis, NASA held a press conference with the astronauts going to Hubble. Three of them have come face-to-face with the big, shiny telescope before, including astrophysicist John Grunsfeld.
Mr. JOHN GRUNSFELD (Astronaut): Every astronaut who climbs around the telescope leaves their mark. Even just putting your hand on the telescope affects the surface coating just a little bit, and so you can see handprints and things like that. And so it's clear that people have been working on this telescope.
GREENFIELDBOYCE: He and the other astronauts know it's special to be the last repair crew.
Mike Massimino will also be doing space walks. He recently saw a friend who's worked on the Hubble project for a long time.
Mr. MIKE MASSIMINO (Astronaut): And so he said, make sure, your last time on that telescope, you give it a pat for me. And so I'm going to give it a pat for Ron(ph) and for everyone else that's worked on this great machine over the years. So I hope that that's going to be in my mind as I'm letting go of the telescope for the last time, just get my one last - my one last handshake with it.
GREENFIELDBOYCE: The astronauts will spend about a week with Hubble and then say goodbye.
Nell Greenfieldboyce, NPR News.
NORRIS: At npr.org, you can find a Hubble show and tell. Astronomers pick out their favorite images from the space telescope. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio.
