Science Channel's 'Hubble Live: The Final Mission' May 11 a no miss
By April MacIntyre
May 5, 2009, 15:28 GMT
Science Channel will broadcast live coverage of the fourth and final space shuttle mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope with Hubble Live: The Final Mission airing Monday, May 11, 2009, at 1:30 PM (ET) / 10:30 AM (PT).
The broadcast will re-air at 9p after the special The Ends of the Earth: Hubble's Final Chapter at 8p.
Science Channel notes, though, the live coverage is contingent on NASA's launch of the Shuttle Atlantis as launch date and/or time is subject to change.
The Science Channel is a network devoted to revealing the incredible possibilities of science, from string theory and futuristic cities to accidental discoveries and outrageous inventions.
Originating from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., Science Channel's live coverage of the launch of the Space Shuttle Atlantis, Hubble Live: The Final Mission, will feature in-depth, exclusive analysis from NASA astrophysicist and space telescope expert Dr. Kim Weaver and former NASA astronaut Paul William Richards.
The network will feature live NASA coverage from the launch site at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., and the Mission Control Center at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.
"Science Channel is the home for live coverage of defining moments in science like this mission to repair one of NASA's historically important space exploration tools," said Debbie Myers, Science Channel general manager. "No other network lends expert perspective to these important scientific moments, or can explain what each means to the lives of viewers quite like the Science Channel."
The astronauts are scheduled to install a Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3), a Cosmic Origins Spectograph (COS) and several other instruments a level of repair never attempted before in space. If successful, the WFC3 will improve the telescope's sensitivity to visible, infrared and ultraviolet light by 10-30 times, and the COS will improve Hubble's sensitivity by ten times.
The Hubble Space Telescope has served as humanity's eye on the universe since 1990.
The imagery the telescope yielded unquestionably has altered scientists' views of the cosmos and helped to answer important questions.
The Ends of the Earth: Hubble's Final Chapter, premiering Monday, May 11 at 8 PM (ET) explores the telescope's rich history with interviews from NASA astronauts Mike Massimino and John Grunsfeld, members of the seven person crew assigned to repair Hubble, and with never-before-seen high-definition footage of the underwater training the crew undertook for more than one year.
Hubble Telescope: Space Shuttle Atlantis is back on land!
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Re: "Hubble Live: The Final Mission" 1:30 PM Science Channel
Astronauts make Hubble repairs
Two shuttle astronauts have completed the first of five spacewalks to repair and upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope.
John Grunsfeld and Drew Feustel spent almost seven hours working on the observatory, and achieved all of their primary objectives.
Chief among these was the installation of a new instrument, the Wide Field Camera 3, which will allow Hubble to see deeper into space than ever before.
They also exchanged a data processing computer that failed last year.
The break-down had left Hubble with no back-up for the unit it currently uses to route all its wonderful images to Earth.
HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE
# Named after the great US astronomer Edwin Hubble
# Launched in 1990 into a 600km-high circular orbit
# Equipped with a 2.4m primary mirror and five instruments
# Length: 15.9m; diameter: 4.2m; Mass: 11,110kg
The replacement passed its initial connection tests with flying colours, ensuring Hubble now has full redundancy for its data processing tasks.
Other work included fixing a mechanism that will enable a robotic spacecraft to capture Hubble at some future date. This should ensure there is a safe means to de-orbit the observatory at the end of its life.
Thursday's spacewalk was not without incident. Before the astronauts could install the Wide Field Camera 3, they had to remove the existing Wide Field Planetary Camera 2. This took some time when a bolt refused to come loose as expected.
The spacewalkers tried a number of different tools; but when they failed to move the bolt also, mission control authorised the astronauts to use as much force as possible.
It was an anxious moment, because had the bolt broken the old camera would have been stuck in place and the new instrument would have had to return to Earth.
"OK, here we go," Feustel said as he forced the bolt. "I think I've got it. It turned. It definitely turned." And then he said: "Woo-hoo, it's moving out!"
Space shuttle Atlantis met up with Hubble on Wednesday while both were circling the Earth some 560km (350 miles) above the ground.
Atlantis' robotic arm was used to grab hold of Hubble. The telescope was pulled down on to a bench that can turn and tilt to give the spacewalking astronauts easy access to its system bays.
The shuttle launched from Florida's Kennedy Space Center on Monday. It is due to return to Earth on Friday of next week.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/s ... 050133.stm
Two shuttle astronauts have completed the first of five spacewalks to repair and upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope.
John Grunsfeld and Drew Feustel spent almost seven hours working on the observatory, and achieved all of their primary objectives.
Chief among these was the installation of a new instrument, the Wide Field Camera 3, which will allow Hubble to see deeper into space than ever before.
They also exchanged a data processing computer that failed last year.
The break-down had left Hubble with no back-up for the unit it currently uses to route all its wonderful images to Earth.
HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE
# Named after the great US astronomer Edwin Hubble
# Launched in 1990 into a 600km-high circular orbit
# Equipped with a 2.4m primary mirror and five instruments
# Length: 15.9m; diameter: 4.2m; Mass: 11,110kg
The replacement passed its initial connection tests with flying colours, ensuring Hubble now has full redundancy for its data processing tasks.
Other work included fixing a mechanism that will enable a robotic spacecraft to capture Hubble at some future date. This should ensure there is a safe means to de-orbit the observatory at the end of its life.
Thursday's spacewalk was not without incident. Before the astronauts could install the Wide Field Camera 3, they had to remove the existing Wide Field Planetary Camera 2. This took some time when a bolt refused to come loose as expected.
The spacewalkers tried a number of different tools; but when they failed to move the bolt also, mission control authorised the astronauts to use as much force as possible.
It was an anxious moment, because had the bolt broken the old camera would have been stuck in place and the new instrument would have had to return to Earth.
"OK, here we go," Feustel said as he forced the bolt. "I think I've got it. It turned. It definitely turned." And then he said: "Woo-hoo, it's moving out!"
Space shuttle Atlantis met up with Hubble on Wednesday while both were circling the Earth some 560km (350 miles) above the ground.
Atlantis' robotic arm was used to grab hold of Hubble. The telescope was pulled down on to a bench that can turn and tilt to give the spacewalking astronauts easy access to its system bays.
The shuttle launched from Florida's Kennedy Space Center on Monday. It is due to return to Earth on Friday of next week.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/s ... 050133.stm
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