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Astronomer-astronaut John Grunsfeld, veteran of eight Hubble Space Telescope spacewalks and a self-described "Hubble hugger," inadvertently bumped into one of the observatory's two low-gain antennas toward the end of an otherwise smooth spacewalk Monday, knocking off a small end piece. Groaning with disbelief, Grunsfeld said, "Oh, I feel terrible."

But engineers at the Goddard Space Flight Center quickly reported the antenna was still working normally. Grunsfeld and fellow spacewalker Andrew Feustel were asked to put a protective cover over the cone-shaped device for added insulation before ending the Atlantis crew's fifth and final spacewalk.… Read more

Held up by a stripped screw, spacewalker Michael Massimino applied brute force to an otherwise delicate operation Sunday, breaking off an offending handrail inside the Hubble Space Telescope and then carefully unscrewing more than 100 small fasteners to get inside a dead science instrument.

After pulling out a blown power supply circuit board, Massimino and crewmate Michael "Bueno" Good carefully installed a replacement card, closed the instrument up and began collecting tools and equipment while engineers at the Goddard Space Flight Center sent commands to verify electrical connectivity in a quick-look "aliveness" test.

Somewhere along the … Read more

In what amounted to electronic brain surgery, a space-suited astronaut cut through shielding on a broken camera deep inside the Hubble Space Telescope on Saturday, removed a cover plate that wasn't designed to be taken off in orbit, used a custom tool to pull out four blown circuit boards, and then installed a fresh set.

Running up to an hour ahead of schedule at one point, astronomer-astronaut John Grunsfeld, a self-described "Hubble hugger" making his third visit to the telescope, then spliced in an electrical cable and connected it to a new low-voltage power supply that replaced … Read more

Astronaut Michael Massimino, floating inside the Hubble Space Telescope, and fellow spacewalker Michael "Bueno" Good, on the end of the shuttle Atlantis' robot arm, successfully installed four state-of-the-art gyroscopes Friday. But an alignment problem prevented the astronauts from installing a box containing two final gyros.

Even so, Hubble Program Manager Preston Burch said the refurbished two-gyro rate sensor unit, or RSU, that they installed instead featured two of the three improvements incorporated in newer models and that engineers are confident it will prove as reliable as its partners.

"We've run the reliability models for all the … Read more

In a make-or-break attempt to free a stuck bolt holding an old camera in place on the Hubble Space Telescope, spacewalker Andrew Feustel, anchored to the end of the shuttle Atlantis' robot arm, used old-fashioned elbow grease to save the day, releasing the bolt and clearing the way for installation of a powerful new camera.

If the bolt had snapped--and that was a possibility--the astronauts would have been unable to remove the 16-year-old Wide Field Planetary Camera 2. In that case, the new $132 million Wide Field Camera 3 would have been returned to Earth aboard Atlantis in a major … Read more

Engineers at the Johnson Space Center are evaluating a small area of tile damage on the forward part of the shuttle Atlantis' right wing where it joins the ship's fuselage. The nicked tiles, apparently damaged during launch by a debris impact around 106 seconds after liftoff, were spotted Tuesday during a lengthy heat shield inspection by the Atlantis astronauts.

LeRoy Cain, chairman of NASA's Mission Management Team, told reporters late Tuesday that engineers are not overly concerned about the damage and probably will not require an additional, "focused" inspection to collect more data. But engineers will … Read more

With a second shuttle on standby for possible rescue duty, the shuttle Atlantis blasted off Monday on a high-stakes five-spacewalk mission to resuscitate the aging Hubble Space Telescope--a fifth and final housecall to give the hobbled satellite a new lease on life.

With its three main engines roaring at full throttle, Atlantis' twin solid-fuel boosters ignited with a ground-shaking roar at 2:01:56 p.m. EDT, instantly pushing the winged spacecraft skyward atop a churning cloud of exhaust.

At the moment of liftoff, the Hubble Space Telescope was soaring high above central Florida in its 350-mile-high orbit, streaking through … Read more

The shuttle Atlantis' countdown is proceeding smoothly toward launch Monday on an $887 million mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope. Forecasters are predicting a 90 percent chance of acceptable weather in Florida and only a slight chance of showers near an emergency runway in Spain.

On Saturday, the shuttle's fuel cell system was loaded with liquid oxygen and hydrogen to power the ship's electrical generators and early Sunday, the main engine avionics system was activated and checked out.

There are no technical problems of any significance at launch complex 39A, and engineers are on track preparing the … Read more

Reeling from projected budget cuts totaling more than $3 billion through 2013, NASA managers and engineers working to build a post-shuttle rocket system for an eventual return to the moon are bracing for a critical review that could set the agency on a different course.

The review was ordered by the Obama administration. The chairman of the independent review panel charged with evaluating NASA's post-shuttle manned space program said Friday he will bring an open mind and "go where the facts lead" in assessing the technical and economic feasibility of the space agency's current manned space … Read more