(IMAGE: NASA)
This eleven-day mission will be NASA’s last trek to the Hubble Space Telescope for service, and the first since 2002. Five spacewalks are planned, when the team of astronauts will add two new science instruments, repair a couple others, and replace other hardware that will extend the already extended life of the telescope. Hubble was originally designed to operate for five years, but the telescope’s batteries have survived more than 18 years, making it the longest-lived low-orbit spacecraft. After the tune-up is complete, Atlantis will act as a “tugboat” of sorts, lifting the telescope to a higher altitude in its Earth orbit and distancing it a bit more from the pull of gravity.
(IMAGE: ScienceBlogs.com)
Atlantis will not make a pit-stop at the International Space Station during this mission, as their sole focus will be to visit and service the Hubble Telescope.
--Carrie
