NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

On October 10, 2008, astronauts will board the Space Shuttle Atlantis for Servicing Mission 4 (SM4), the final trip to the Hubble Telescope. Over the course of five spacewalks, they will install two new instruments, repair two inactive ones, and perform the component replacements that will keep the telescope functioning at least into 2014. The effort-intensive, rigorously researched, exhaustively tested mission also involves diverse groups of people on the ground throughout the country.

+ Here's how NASA plans to do it.

Final Review of Mission Flight Rules Completed


Image above: Inside the Hubble Operations Control at Goddard   Image credit: NASA    > View Larger Image

Sept. 19, 2008
Sixty members of the Hubble Flight Operations team participated in a final review of the Mission Flight Rules. These rules are used during the mission to help guide the activities between personnel at Goddard Space Flight Center, Johnson Space Center, and the on-orbit crew.

Next week, the Space Shuttle Program Flight Readiness Review will be held on September 24-25.

Servicing Mission 4 Fact Sheets
> SM4 Summary
 > Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-125) Mission Summary
 > Wide Field Camera 3
 > Cosmic Origins Spectrograph
 > Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph Repair
 > Advanced Camera for Surveys Repair
 > Space Telescope Operations Control Center
 > Gyroscopes
 > Fine Guidance Sensor
 > Batteries
 > New Outer Blanket Layer
 > Soft Capture and Rendezvous System
 > Super Lightweight Interchangeable Carrier

Instrument Sites:
> Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3)
> Cosmic Origins Spectrograph COS
> Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) Repair
> Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) Repair