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Challenges Ahead In Final Hubble Servicing Mission

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the good-luck-up-there-guys dept.

Hugh Pickens writes "Space shuttle Atlantis is slated to lift off Monday on the fifth and final servicing mission to Hubble with four mission specialists alternating in two-astronaut teams will attempt a total of five spacewalks from Atlantis to replace broken components, add new science instruments, and swap out the telescope's six 125-pound (57-kilogram) batteries, original parts that have powered Hubble's night-side operations for nearly two decades. 'This is our final opportunity to service and upgrade Hubble,' says David Leckrone, senior project scientist for the Hubble Space Telescope. 'So we're replacing some items that are getting long in the tooth to give Hubble longevity, and then we'll try to take advantage of that five- to 10-year extra lifetime with the most powerful instrumental tools we've ever had on board.' Some of the upgrades are relatively straightforward and modular: yank out old part, put in new. But they're big parts: The 'fine guidance sensors' sound delicate but weigh as much as a grand piano back on Earth. But what's different this time is that the astronauts will also open up some instruments and root around inside, doing Geek Squad-like repairs while wearing bulky spacesuits and traveling around the planet at 17,000 mph. 'We have this choreographed almost down to the minute of what we want the crew to do. It's this really fine ballet,' said Keith Walyus, the servicing mission operations manager at Goddard. 'We've been training for this for seven years. We can't wait for this to happen.'"

10 of 130 comments (clear)

  1. Uh Oh by MyLongNickName · · Score: 5, Funny

    This all sounded good until they said they would be doing "Geek Squad style repairs". Does this mean they will recommend the Norton Anti-virus suite be installed and send a $500 bill?

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    See my journal for slashdot ID's by year. Mine created in 2005. http://slashdot.org/journal/289875/slashdot-ids-by-year
    1. Re:Uh Oh by GrifterCC · · Score: 5, Funny

      And steal Hubble's pr0n!

    2. Re:Uh Oh by amazeofdeath · · Score: 5, Funny

      Maybe Hubble's registry has been clogged up, and a fresh OS installation is needed.

      --
      U+F8FF
    3. Re:Uh Oh by mc1138 · · Score: 4, Funny

      They're actually going to use pirated navigation software... and charge you full price!

      --
      The musings of just another geek and his junk.
    4. Re:Uh Oh by Amazing+Quantum+Man · · Score: 2, Funny

      Maybe they were hoping that they could meet a hot CIA agent while working at Geek Squad.

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      Fascism starts when the efficiency of the government becomes more important than the rights of the people.
  2. Foreshadowing by Agent00Wang · · Score: 3, Funny

    'We've been training for this for seven years. We can't wait for this to happen.'

    Cue heartbreak and disaster.

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    NINJA SPIRIT - The Ancient Art of Insanity
    1. Re:Foreshadowing by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 5, Funny

      I think you have misread the title. It reads "Challenges Ahead...", not "Challenger Ahead...".

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      Ezekiel 23:20
  3. Re:17,000 mph sounds like it's fast by pjt33 · · Score: 2, Funny

    No, he's pointing out that you could repair someone else's car while driving down the road at 85 mph.

  4. Geek Squad... by kannibul · · Score: 2, Funny

    So, you mean they'll copy off all the space-porn to a central repository and do nothing?

  5. Re:17,000 mph sounds like it's fast by mea37 · · Score: 4, Funny

    That is, assuming you carry things with the mass of a piano in your glove box, and wear a space suit while driving.