Andrew Yee[_1_]
February 21st 07, 05:17 AM
Susan Hendrix
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. February 20, 2007
(Phone: 301/286-7745)
Astronauts Visit Goddard to Get 'Hands-On' Training for Next Servicing
Mission
Seven NASA astronauts, dressed in their famous blue flight suits, arrived at
Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., Feb. 12 for three days of
crew familiarization meetings. They are here to begin their official
orientation and training for what will be the last shuttle servicing mission
to the Hubble Space Telescope in late 2008.
The crew spent their mornings in training sessions, and afternoons inside
the world's largest Class 10,000 cleanroom at Goddard. During their
three-day visit, the astronauts received extensive briefings about Hubble
operations, Goddard facilities and hardware, and the mission's five
scheduled spacewalks. During the mission, astronauts will install two new
science instruments, as well as perform essential upgrades to the
observatory.
"While Johnson Space Center provides underwater training for the astronauts
in its Neutral Buoyancy Lab, Goddard offers them hands-on experience using
high fidelity mock-ups of Hubble and the specialty tools required for the
tasks that lie ahead," said Preston Burch, associate director and program
manager for Hubble at Goddard. "Together, we help ensure a flawless
servicing mission."
The crew chosen for this servicing mission includes commander and veteran
astronaut Scott Altman, shuttle pilot Navy Reserve Capt. Gregory C. Johnson,
veteran spacewalkers John Grunsfeld and Mike Massimino, and first-time space
fliers Andrew Feustel, Air Force Col. Michael Good, and flight engineer and
robotic arm operator K. Megan McArthur.
New Instruments Mean New Promise of Unknown Science Discoveries
During the servicing mission, Hubble will be outfitted with two new science
instruments -- the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) and Wide Field Camera 3
(WFC3).
The COS will be the most sensitive ultraviolet spectrograph ever flown on
Hubble, providing new capabilities that will take the telescope into
exciting, uncharted space. Its primary science objective will be to measure
the structure and composition of the ordinary matter that is concentrated in
what scientists call the 'cosmic web' -- long, narrow filaments of galaxies
and intergalactic gas, separated by huge voids. Astronauts will install the
COS in the instrument bay currently outfitted by 'COSTAR' -- the set of
corrective mirrors on deployable arms which provided corrected light beams
to the first generation of Hubble axial instruments.
The WFC3 is a new camera sensitive across a wide range of wavelengths,
including near infrared, visible, and ultraviolet light. The primary goal of
this instrument is to study a diverse range of objects and phenomena, from
young and extremely distant galaxies, to much more nearby stellar systems,
to objects in our very own solar system. Astronauts will install the WFC3 in
the instrument bay currently holding the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2
(WFPC2).
Hubble to Get Some Necessary Upgrades
In addition to new science instruments, astronauts will install new
gyroscopes, new batteries, new outer blanket layers (sheets of aluminum that
will lower the temperature in critical electronics), and a refurbished Fine
Guidance Sensor that helps control the telescope's pointing system.
Astronauts also will attempt a complex, on-orbit repair of the Space
Telescope Imaging Spectrograph, or STIS, which was installed in 1997, and
stopped working in 2004. Astronomers used the STIS for high resolution
studies in visible and ultraviolet light of both nearby star systems and
distant galaxies, which provide clues about the motions and chemical makeup
of stars, planetary atmospheres, and other galaxies.
Finally, astronauts will install a Soft Capture Mechanism to Hubble's aft
bulkhead. This circular device has structures and targets that will allow a
de-orbit vehicle to more easily capture and guide the telescope to a safe,
controlled re-entry at the end of its mission life.
The Journey Continues
Please check back periodically for more articles about this exciting journey
back to Hubble, one that will most likely rewrite textbooks for years to
come.
[NOTE: Images supporting this release are available at
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news/topstory/2007/crew_visit.html ]
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. February 20, 2007
(Phone: 301/286-7745)
Astronauts Visit Goddard to Get 'Hands-On' Training for Next Servicing
Mission
Seven NASA astronauts, dressed in their famous blue flight suits, arrived at
Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., Feb. 12 for three days of
crew familiarization meetings. They are here to begin their official
orientation and training for what will be the last shuttle servicing mission
to the Hubble Space Telescope in late 2008.
The crew spent their mornings in training sessions, and afternoons inside
the world's largest Class 10,000 cleanroom at Goddard. During their
three-day visit, the astronauts received extensive briefings about Hubble
operations, Goddard facilities and hardware, and the mission's five
scheduled spacewalks. During the mission, astronauts will install two new
science instruments, as well as perform essential upgrades to the
observatory.
"While Johnson Space Center provides underwater training for the astronauts
in its Neutral Buoyancy Lab, Goddard offers them hands-on experience using
high fidelity mock-ups of Hubble and the specialty tools required for the
tasks that lie ahead," said Preston Burch, associate director and program
manager for Hubble at Goddard. "Together, we help ensure a flawless
servicing mission."
The crew chosen for this servicing mission includes commander and veteran
astronaut Scott Altman, shuttle pilot Navy Reserve Capt. Gregory C. Johnson,
veteran spacewalkers John Grunsfeld and Mike Massimino, and first-time space
fliers Andrew Feustel, Air Force Col. Michael Good, and flight engineer and
robotic arm operator K. Megan McArthur.
New Instruments Mean New Promise of Unknown Science Discoveries
During the servicing mission, Hubble will be outfitted with two new science
instruments -- the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) and Wide Field Camera 3
(WFC3).
The COS will be the most sensitive ultraviolet spectrograph ever flown on
Hubble, providing new capabilities that will take the telescope into
exciting, uncharted space. Its primary science objective will be to measure
the structure and composition of the ordinary matter that is concentrated in
what scientists call the 'cosmic web' -- long, narrow filaments of galaxies
and intergalactic gas, separated by huge voids. Astronauts will install the
COS in the instrument bay currently outfitted by 'COSTAR' -- the set of
corrective mirrors on deployable arms which provided corrected light beams
to the first generation of Hubble axial instruments.
The WFC3 is a new camera sensitive across a wide range of wavelengths,
including near infrared, visible, and ultraviolet light. The primary goal of
this instrument is to study a diverse range of objects and phenomena, from
young and extremely distant galaxies, to much more nearby stellar systems,
to objects in our very own solar system. Astronauts will install the WFC3 in
the instrument bay currently holding the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2
(WFPC2).
Hubble to Get Some Necessary Upgrades
In addition to new science instruments, astronauts will install new
gyroscopes, new batteries, new outer blanket layers (sheets of aluminum that
will lower the temperature in critical electronics), and a refurbished Fine
Guidance Sensor that helps control the telescope's pointing system.
Astronauts also will attempt a complex, on-orbit repair of the Space
Telescope Imaging Spectrograph, or STIS, which was installed in 1997, and
stopped working in 2004. Astronomers used the STIS for high resolution
studies in visible and ultraviolet light of both nearby star systems and
distant galaxies, which provide clues about the motions and chemical makeup
of stars, planetary atmospheres, and other galaxies.
Finally, astronauts will install a Soft Capture Mechanism to Hubble's aft
bulkhead. This circular device has structures and targets that will allow a
de-orbit vehicle to more easily capture and guide the telescope to a safe,
controlled re-entry at the end of its mission life.
The Journey Continues
Please check back periodically for more articles about this exciting journey
back to Hubble, one that will most likely rewrite textbooks for years to
come.
[NOTE: Images supporting this release are available at
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news/topstory/2007/crew_visit.html ]