Challenges Ahead In Final Hubble Servicing Mission

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.'"

Comments

Re:Uh Oh

[MadnessASAP]

So what, we're supposed to suddenly supposed to treat the geek squad as a talented group of well meaning computer experts rather then the talentless, lying, salesmen shills that they are becasue a few good people get lumped in with the rest of the crap? Tough fucking shit buddy, you work for a crappy company which employs crappy people and I'm not sorry at all that you get lumped in with the rest of them. Furthermore judging by your choice of wording and how forcibly you tried to defend yourself I'm bettign that you aren't nearly the hot shit that you think you are and really are deserving of all the connotations that comes with the dorky yellow shirt that you wear. I used to work as an installer in a Canadian Tire garage and in case you don't happen to live in Canada, Canadian Tire is the Best Buy of the automotive world and you know what I did good work and so did most of the other mechanics in the garage, we didn't even have the cavalier attitude towards mistakes that you seem to have. Unfortunately our garage was the exception to the norm where most Canadian Tire garages did very poor work and I had absolutely no fantasies about the very well deserved image the rest of Canada had of our garages and I knew exactly what to expect when I said that I worked for Canadian Tire. In short get off that high horse you seem to have gotten yourself on and take an honest look at yourself and the company you work for.