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Two shuttles sighted

Stunning aerial views of shuttles Atlantis and Endeavour perched atop launch pads 39A and 39B on Sept. 20.

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Endeavour to the VAB

For its role as a rescue craft during the Hubble servicing mission and the scheduled November logistics run to the space station, Endeavour is moved to the Vehicle Assembly Building.

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STS-125: The mission

A detailed step-by-step preview of space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission to extend the life and vision of the Hubble Space Telescope.

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STS-125: The EVAs

The lead spacewalk officer provides indepth explanations of the five EVAs to service Hubble during Atlantis' flight.

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STS-125: The crew

The seven shuttle Atlantis astronauts hold a press conference one month before their planned launch to Hubble.

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STS-125: NASA leaders

The leaders of NASA's Space Operations and Science directorates give their insights into the upcoming shuttle mission to the Hubble Space Telescope.

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STS-125: Shuttle boss

The head of NASA's space shuttle program discusses the risks and plans for Atlantis' trek to Hubble.

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The Hubble program

An overview of the Hubble Space Telescope program and the planning that has gone into the final servicing mission.

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Hubble's future science

The new instruments to be installed into Hubble and the future science objectives for the observatory are previewed.

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Atlantis on the pad

Shuttle Atlantis makes the slow journey from the Vehicle Assembly Building to launch pad 39A for the STS-125 mission to service Hubble.

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Meet the Hubble crew

Meet the crew launching on Atlantis' STS-125 mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope and learn how each became an astronaut in this special biography movie.

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Hurricane Ike forces delay of next two shuttle launches
BY WILLIAM HARWOOD
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS "SPACE PLACE" & USED WITH PERMISSION
Posted: September 24, 2008

Shuttle program managers today ordered minor, expected delays for the next two shuttle missions - an October flight to service the Hubble Space Telescope and a November space station assembly mission - primarily because of training time lost in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike.


Credit: Justin Ray/Spaceflight Now
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The target launch date for shuttle mission STS-125, the fifth and final planned Hubble servicing mission, will slip from Oct. 10 to 10:19 p.m. EDT on Oct. 14, officials said. Shuttle managers meeting for a program-level flight readiness review also agreed to delay launch of Endeavour on the next mission, STS-126, from Nov. 12 to Nov. 16. Liftoff of that flight would be targeted for around 7:07 p.m.

The new target dates still must be reviewed by senior management, which plans an executive-level readiness review Oct. 2 and 3.

Both delays were blamed on Hurricane Ike, which forced NASA to shut down the Johnson Space Center last week. The Atlantis astronauts, training for one of the most complex Hubble missions yet attempted, missed four underwater spacewalk training runs, two large-scale integrated simulations involving the astronauts and flight controllers and an ascent simulation to practice emergency procedures.

"We had a little bit of room in the final couple of weeks, but all that stuff needs to be done and we have to make it happen before we fly," Atlantis commander Scott Altman told reporters Tuesday.

Altman, pilot Gregory C. Johnson, flight engineer Megan McArthur and spacewalkers John Grunsfeld, Michael Massimino, Andrew Feustel and Michael Good donned pressure suits and strapped in aboard Atlantis today for a dress-rehearsal countdown at pad 39A.

If the new target dates hold up, Atlantis would take off for real at 10:19:20 p.m. on Oct. 14. After a two-day orbital chase, robot arm operator McArthur would grapple the telescope around 9:33 p.m. on Oct. 16.

Five back-to-back spacewalks are planned to install two new science instruments, to repair two others and to install six new gyroscopes, six batteries, a fine guidance sensor and insulation. For an Oct. 14 launch, the spacewalks would begin around 3:30 p.m., with the first on Oct. 17 and the final excursion on Oct. 21.

If all goes well, Hubble would be released around 5:17 p.m. on Oct. 22 and Atlantis would land back at the Kennedy Space Center around 8:07 p.m. on Oct. 25.

The Hubble mission is the only flight on NASA's shuttle manifest that doesn't go to the international space station. Because the telescope is in a different orbit, the Atlantis astronauts cannot seek safe haven aboard the lab complex in case of a major problem that might prevent a safe re-entry.

Even though the odds of such a failure are considered remote, the shuttle Endeavour, hauled to pad 39B late last week, is being prepped for launch on an emergency rescue flight if the unexpected occurs. After Atlantis is cleared for entry, Endeavour will be moved to pad 39A and prepared for launch on a four-spacewalk station assembly flight.

Under the proposed schedule, Endeavour would take off around 7:07 p.m. on Nov. 16 and dock with the space station around 4:40 p.m. on Nov. 18. Four spacewalks are planned, each one starting around 1 p.m., on Nov. 20, 22, 24 and 26. Undocking would be targeted for around 10 a.m. on Nov. 29 with landing on tap the afternoon of Dec. 1.

See the updated Atlantis flight plan here and the Endeavour flight plan here.

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VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS REHEARSE QUICK SHUTTLE EXIT PLAY
VIDEO: CREW BOARDS ATLANTIS FOR MOCK COUNTDOWN PLAY
VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS DON SUITS FOR PRACTICE COUNTDOWN PLAY
VIDEO: CREW'S TRAINING ON ESCAPE BASKETS AND BUNKER PLAY
VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS CHAT WITH PRESS AT LAUNCH PAD PLAY
VIDEO: CREW TEST DRIVES EMERGENCY PAD ESCAPE VEHICLE PLAY
VIDEO: COMMANDER AND PILOT PRACTICE LANDING APPROACHES PLAY
VIDEO: CREW ARRIVES AT CAPE FOR PRACTICE COUNTDOWN PLAY
VIDEO: COMMENTS FROM COMMANDER AFTER ARRIVING PLAY

VIDEO: AERIAL VIEWS OF ATLANTIS AND ENDEAVOUR PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: PRE-FLIGHT BRIEFING: THE STS-125 MISSION PLAY
VIDEO: PRE-FLIGHT BRIEFING: THE FIVE SPACEWALKS PLAY
VIDEO: PRE-FLIGHT BRIEFING: THE SEVEN ASTRONAUTS PLAY
VIDEO: PRE-FLIGHT BRIEFING: NASA LEADERSHIP PLAY
VIDEO: PRE-FLIGHT BRIEFING: SHUTTLE PROGRAM BOSS PLAY
VIDEO: PRE-FLIGHT BRIEFING: HUBBLE OVERVIEW PLAY
VIDEO: PRE-FLIGHT BRIEFING: HUBBLE SCIENCE PLAY

VIDEO: SHUTTLE ARRIVES ATOP PAD 39A PLAY
VIDEO: ATLANTIS EMERGES FROM VEHICLE ASSEMBLY BUILDING PLAY
VIDEO: TIME-LAPSE MOVIE OF ATLANTIS' ROLLOUT TO LAUNCH PAD PLAY

VIDEO: ATLANTIS ROLLS FROM HANGAR TO VAB PLAY
VIDEO: ATLANTIS LIFTED INTO PLACE FOR ATTACHMENT PLAY

VIDEO: BIOGRAPHY MOVIE OF ATLANTIS' CREW PLAY
VIDEO: INTERVIEW WITH COMMANDER SCOTT ALTMAN PLAY
VIDEO: INTERVIEW WITH PILOT GREG JOHNSON PLAY
VIDEO: INTERVIEW WITH MS1 MIKE GOOD PLAY
VIDEO: INTERVIEW WITH MS2 MEGAN MCARTHUR PLAY
VIDEO: INTERVIEW WITH MS3 JOHN GRUNSFELD PLAY
VIDEO: INTERVIEW WITH MS4 MIKE MASSIMINO PLAY
VIDEO: INTERVIEW WITH MS5 DREW FEUSTEL PLAY
MORE: STS-125 VIDEO COVERAGE
NEW! HIGH DEFINITION VIDEO
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