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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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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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Newly installed camera passes 'aliveness' test
BY WILLIAM HARWOOD
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS "SPACE PLACE" & USED WITH PERMISSION
Posted: May 14, 2009

After struggling to remove an old camera from the Hubble Space Telescope, spacewalkers Andrew Feustel and John Grunsfeld installed a powerful new camera in its place that should help Hubble peer deeper into space and time than ever before.


Feustel installs the new WFC3 into Hubble. Credit: NASA TV
 
The $132 million Wide Field Camera 3 was mounted in place just before noon and ground controllers began a series of electrical checks, confirming the new instrument was properly plugged in and operating as expected.

"And Houston, for EVA," called Dan Burbank from mission control. "Good news ... aliveness test on Wide Field 3 is good."

"That's awesome news, Dan, thanks," replied Mike Massimino from Atlantis. "These guys did a great job and we appreciate all the great support we got from the ground getting Wide Field in to unlock the secrets of the universe."

"MORE of the secrets," chimed in astronomer-astronaut John Grunsfeld.

"MORE of the secrets of the universe," agreed Massimino.

Feustel and Grunsfeld ran into problems installing the old Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 in the same storage box used to launch its replacement. In this case, a recessed bolt did not initially engage. But after several attempts, Feustel finally was successful and the camera was safely stowed for the trip home.

The camera swap-out was complete by around 12:35 p.m., about an hour behind schedule because of the initial problems removing WFPC 2. The astronauts then turned their attention to the spacewalk's second major objective, installing a replacement science instrument command and data handling system computer, or SIC&DH.

Atlantis' launch was delayed seven months because of a failure last September that knocked out one of the two channels in Hubble's SIC&DH, which plays the critical role of formatting science data for transmission to Earth. A ground test unit was inspected, tested and certified for launch to restore full redundancy in the system.

The SIC&DH will be mounted on the inside of the access door to equipment bay 10, a quarter of the way around the telescope to the left of the Wide Field Camera 3.

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VIDEO: WEDNESDAY'S MISSION MANAGEMENT TEAM UPDATE PLAY
VIDEO: WEDNESDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
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VIDEO: TUESDAY'S MISSION MANAGEMENT TEAM UPDATE PLAY
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VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 1 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: THE FULL STS-125 LAUNCH EXPERIENCE PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: EXTERNAL TANK CAMERA PLAY
VIDEO: FOOTAGE OF FUEL TANK AFTER JETTISON PLAY

VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: FRONT CAMERA PLAY
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VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: PAD PERIMETER PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: UCS-23 TRACKER PLAY
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VIDEO: STS-125 POST-LAUNCH NEWS CONFERENCE PLAY
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