NASA completes two important reviews for upcoming Hubble mission (Forwarded)

Susan Hendrix / Ed Campion
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. April 20, 2007
301-286-7745 / 0697

RELEASE: 07-15

NASA COMPLETES TWO IMPORTANT REVIEWS FOR UPCOMING HUBBLE MISSION

GREENBELT, Md. -- NASA managers this week completed two key program
reviews that demonstrated the space shuttle servicing mission to the
Hubble Space Telescope is progressing well. The STS-125 servicing
mission to the telescope is targeted for launch in September 2008.

On April 18 and 19, the Servicing Mission Four Review Board, which
includes Hubble managers and engineers, Space Shuttle Program managers
from the Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas, and mission astronauts,
met at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md, to conduct a
mission-level delta, or second, Critical Design Review, or CDR and a
Test Readiness Review. The design review certifies that the design and
development work needed for a successful mission has been completed and
the program is ready to build and fly the mission, while the test review
determines if the hardware is ready for environmental tests that
simulate operations in space. The original Hubble servicing mission CDR
was held in October 2002, and the new review was needed as an update
following reinstatement of the servicing mission last October.

These reviews, which are standard milestones in any major project, are
conducted to demonstrate that the overall design is compliant with
mission requirements and that flight hardware and software developments
are on schedule for mission-level testing.

During the two-day meeting, presentations were made on a variety of
topics including space shuttle mission analyses, spacewalks, development
and system-level test plans for flight hardware.

"This review demonstrated that the Hubble Program is on track, that all
mission products are on schedule and that the mission can be executed
safely and efficiently," said Preston Burch, associate director/program
manager for Hubble at Goddard.

STS-125 is the final planned servicing mission to the Hubble Space
Telescope. Astronauts will use the shuttle to bring two new instruments
to Hubble along with gyros, batteries and other devices crucial for the
telescope's continued success through the year 2013.

For more information about Hubble, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/hubble