Final Hubble Servicing Mission, May 11

A crew of astronauts will set off on the final Hubble servicing mission on May 11, 2009. This will be the fifth and final mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope in the 19 years it has been orbiting in space and providing us with unprecedented and phenomenal photos of never before seen space objects. Read about it below and see Hubble photos and videos.

Hubble Photo

The U. S. space agency has scheduled the launch of the space shuttle Atlantis with a mission to upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration officials have announced the launch for the STS-125 mission has been set for 2:01 p.m. EDT May 11 from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

This is an 11-day mission that will be lead by Commander Scott Altman and six crew mates. They will be tasked with refurbishing the Hubble with state-of-the-art instruments that are expected to expand the telescope’s capabilities and extend its lifetime through at least 2014. The Hubble Telescope has been in space for 19 years at this point which is already twice the length of time it was initially expected to work.

The Hubble orbits 353 miles above the Earth. It is the first space telescope to be designed so that it can be visited while in orbit for repairs and technology upgrades. There have been four previous servicing missions to the telescope. Each time its been serviced, the Hubble’s power has been increased and its technical capabilities enhanced. Its the longest and most successful space mission that has ever been undertaken.

In addition to Commander Scott Altman, the crew of astronauts include; pilot Gregory Johnson, Michael Massimino, Michael Good, Megan McArthur, John Grunsfeld and Drew Feustel.

I understand very little about the technical aspects of what NASA does and how they do it. I certainly have little understanding of how the Hubble works. But I’ve very glad we have this final Hubble servicing mission leaving on May 11. Hopefully, the Hubble will keep the amazing photographs of outer space coming back here so us mere Earthlings can continue to enjoy them.

Here are a small sampling of Hubble photos and a couple of videos. Enjoy.