Inside KSC News Feeds
07-21-2008, 05:14 AM
The delicate equipment to refurbish the 18-year-old Hubble Space Telescope has begun arriving at Kennedy Space Center, presenting payload managers with one of their greatest challenges.
The gear includes spare parts for failing components, two new instruments, six gyroscopes and six, 125-pound batteries. The nearly 2,500 pounds of electronics will fill four pallets, each of which must be provided electrical power and climate control.
"On this particular mission we are carrying more flight hardware to orbit than any other of the previous (Hubble) missions," said Hubble Observatory Manager Thomas Griffin, whose team is responsible for installing the instruments onto the carriers.
Astronauts have visited Hubble four times to make repairs since it was launched in 1990.
This payload is light compared with the 32,000-pound Kibo module that shuttle Discovery took to the International Space Station in May. However, Atlantis must climb to an orbit of nearly 360 miles, much higher than the station at approximately 220 miles.
More... (http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080721/NEWS02/807210313/1007/rss06)
The gear includes spare parts for failing components, two new instruments, six gyroscopes and six, 125-pound batteries. The nearly 2,500 pounds of electronics will fill four pallets, each of which must be provided electrical power and climate control.
"On this particular mission we are carrying more flight hardware to orbit than any other of the previous (Hubble) missions," said Hubble Observatory Manager Thomas Griffin, whose team is responsible for installing the instruments onto the carriers.
Astronauts have visited Hubble four times to make repairs since it was launched in 1990.
This payload is light compared with the 32,000-pound Kibo module that shuttle Discovery took to the International Space Station in May. However, Atlantis must climb to an orbit of nearly 360 miles, much higher than the station at approximately 220 miles.
More... (http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080721/NEWS02/807210313/1007/rss06)