Crucial to fulfilling this objective was a series of on-orbit servicing missions by Space Shuttle astronauts. After years of arduous planning and rehearsing, the Space Shuttle Atlantis and the STS crew launched successfully on May 11, and completed Servicing Mission 4, the final astronaut visit mission to the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope.
In an incredible day high wire ballet of humans and machines, the Atlantis crew retrieved, upgraded, sustained and repaired the telescope, then set it free to continue exploring the universe well into the next decade. During the mission's five dramatic spacewalks, astronauts installed two new science instruments, repaired two others, replaced all six batteries and all six gyros, installed a new science data computer, attached a soft capture mechanism to the Telescope, and fitted new insulation panels to three of Hubble's equipment bays.
The two new instruments the crew installed were the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph and the Wide Field Camera 3, both of which will significantly expand Hubble's astronomical observing capability by as much as 70 times. Each mission extended Hubble's scientific power with new instruments, modernized its systems with new technology, and performed critical maintenance and repairs.
Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company LMSSC , a major operating unit of Lockheed Martin Corporation, designs and develops, tests, manufactures and operates a full spectrum of advanced-technology systems for national security and military, civil government and commercial customers. Chief products include human space flight systems; a full range of remote sensing, navigation, meteorological and communications satellites and instruments; space observatories and interplanetary spacecraft; laser radar; ballistic missiles; missile defense systems; and nanotechnology research and development.
The institute also supports other astronomy programs and its science staff conducts world-class scientific research. Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes MAST , where the data of over 20 astronomical missions is curated and disseminated for use by the global astronomy community. The institute brings astrophysics to the public through internationally recognized news, education, and public outreach programs.
The communications and outreach team finds innovative ways to share complex scientific discoveries with the public. An interdisciplinary group of communications professionals and scientists works together to prepare and disseminate news items, as well as posters, exhibits, and other informal education products in print and electronic formats. About the Telescope On April 24, , the space shuttle Discovery lifted off from Earth with the Hubble Space Telescope nestled securely in its payload bay.
Discovery lifts-off on April 24, to deliver the first leading space-based telescope into orbit Space shuttle Discovery lifted off from Kennedy Space Center, Florida to launch and deploy the Hubble Space Telescope into low Earth orbit. Since Hubble was designed for periodic servicing, items being replaced are easily accessible Hubble was designed to be serviced by astronauts in order to maintain and repair the observatory and upgrade the science instruments to the most advanced technology available.
The American Lyman Spitzer proposed a more realistic plan for a space telescope in and lobbied for his idea for almost 30 years.
Funding began to flow in and it was decided to name the telescope after Edwin Powell Hubble who had discovered the expansion of the Universe in the s. Although the Hubble Space Telescope was down-sized to 2. The precision-ground mirror was finished in and the assembly of the entire spacecraft was completed in The plan called for a launch on NASA's Space Shuttle in , but just months before, the scheduled launch the Challenger disaster caused a year long delay of the entire Shuttle programme.
Hubble was finally launched in and the tension built up as astronomers examined the first images through Hubble's eyes. As in all good adventures, success does not come easily: it did not take long to realise that Hubble's mirror had a serious flaw. On the whole, Hubble weighs more than 12 tons and the spacecraft is Lockheed Martin continues to support the Hubble telescope since its launch on April 24,
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