Hubble Space Telescope to be reinvented
Astronauts work on Hubble during Servicing Mission 3b in March 2002. Credit: NASA
A space shuttle mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope in late 2008 will be well worth the risk involved, says NASA astronaut John Grace Grunsfeld.
John Grunsfeld: In the fall of this year we’re going to go up to the Hubble Space Telescope on the Space Shuttle and put in a new suite of instruments that will essentially reinvent the telescope. The detector technology and the wavelength coverage that we’ll have is going to allow us to have new views of the universe that are just going to astound and amaze everyone, scientists and amateur astronomers, everybody.
Grunsfeld and his crew of seven will install two new instruments and attempt the first-ever repair – in orbit – of two key failed instruments. Scientists say the repairs and upgrades will increase the Hubble’s capabilities by a hundred-fold.
John Grunsfeld: We’re doing a marathon at a sprint pace for really the entire mission. From the time that we get to orbit, we do our inspections of the orbiter, we have to find and grapple Hubble and install it, and then we do five spacewalks, and then we deploy Hubble, and then we do more inspections and then we come home. So there’s really no let up of the pace at all.
Earth & Sky asked astronaut Grunsfeld why he and others risk their necks for the Hubble telescope.
John Grunsfeld: I think the cause of science is something worth risking my life for. I’ve spent almost my entire adult life and most of my young life in the pursuit of scientific knowledge. And Hubble is almost an icon for the quest of scientific knowledge.
Grunsfeld said the upcoming Hubble repair mission will be demanding for the crew.
John Grunsfeld: I think the biggest challenge is going to be to be able to go through the five spacewalks with all of this content and try and keep our momentum going as we’re getting more and more tired throughout the mission.
But, he said, the effort will be worthwhile.
John Grunsfeld: We’re going to have a very exciting mission. Space Shuttle Atlantis is going up to the Hubble Space Telescope, and through the wonders of multimedia I hope that all of you can be there with us.
John Grunsfeld on a mission to reinvent Hubble
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I do believe that the astronauts who is going to do the shuttle, spacewalks and replacing the equipment should be honored for that endeavor as they are risking their lives. I only wish that I could have the knowledge to be with one of them as the constellation is my hope and dreams that one day we will meet other beings and I think that there is others! My prayers will be with the astonauts.
I cant wait to see the results of these repairs. The only thing I dislike about NASA is that they take so long to prepare for missions. We still have to wait about 13 years till they fly to the moon. I know they have to make things perfect but dang I hate waiting.
These wonderful people are writing our past & future
May God be with them.
I love space science, always have. Now in my 50’s I think it’s time to reconsider what we are spending as a society in this area. According to NASA, a shuttle flight costs about 500 million — per flight — and the total cost of the Hubble program is in the vicinity of $4 billion. Yet what do we know about our oceans and their fecundity which is under extreme stress from over fishing? What do we know about our atmosphere and climate change? There’s much to be gained from improving the our climate change modeling but we lack the funds to do so, funds that are a fraction of what is spent on space science. As much as I think space exploration and the Hubble telescope are “cool” I no longer think it’s a good use of resources.
We are building a Laser Interferometer here in PERTH, Australia, to run in Conjunction with another 5 throughout the world.
Apparently when (and if) Gravity waves are detected, communication with Hubble with ensure “EARLIER” Cosmos Catastrophies on photo, true or false?
George