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May 19, 2009

Astronauts Release Renewed Hubble Telescope Into Orbit
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=2456270:A6F02AD83191E1601DEB3E40B251E0D62A201403E89ED254&
 
Crew of shuttle 'Atlantis' bid farewell to 19-year-old telescope,
capping fifth and final mission to extend Hubble's life 
The Hubble Space Telescope, top, is lifted by the shuttle Atlantis'
robotic arm out of the shuttle's cargo bay in preparation for its
release, 19 May 2009U.S. astronauts released a renewed Hubble Space
Telescope back into orbit, where it is expected to continue its mission
studying the universe for at least five more years. The crew of the
shuttle Atlantis bid farewell to the 19-year-old telescope Tuesday,
capping the fifth and final mission to extend the Hubble's life.
Astronaut Megan Mc Arthur used the shuttle's robotic arm to carefully
lift the Hubble out of the payload bay, move it high above Atlantis, and
gently cast the telescope back into orbit. The seven-member crew made
unprecedented upgrades and repairs to the telescope during five
ambitious spacewalks in what was an especially dangerous mission because
of debris cluttering the orbit. The U.S. space agency NASA says the
telescope is now able to look more deeply into space and help scientists
look, as NASA put it, further back in time. During the mission,
astronauts installed a new camera and installed a sophisticated new
instrument, the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph, to help capture images
about how planets, stars and galaxies were formed. Atlantis is scheduled
to return to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday. 


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