Final preparations are under way for NASA's planned launch
next week of the space shuttle Atlantis to upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope.
The weather looks promising for the shuttle's planned
liftoff May 11 at 2:01 p.m. EDT (1802 GMT) from the Kennedy Space Center
(KSC) in Cape Canaveral, Fla.
Shuttle weather officer Kathy Winters predicted an 80
percent chance of favorable weather that day, with a small risk of clouds or
showers that could prevent a launch. If the shuttle is unable to lift
off Monday, NASA can try again May 12 and May 13, though there is only a 60
percent chance of favorable weather those days.
"Overall for launch weather here at KSC, it looks best
on the first day and then the weather starts to deteriorate," Winters said
today during a briefing.
Atlantis is standing ready at Launch Pad 39A, where ground
crews are making final checks and preparations of its payload — a cache
of new and replacement hardware and instruments to install on Hubble.
"Currently we're just in the final stages of payload
closeouts in final preparation for payload bay door closure this
afternoon," said shuttle payload manager Debbie Hahn. "Basically
we're in great posture for this launch attempt."
The 19-year-old Hubble Space Telescope is losing steam. Though
it is still in use by scientists, it only has one working instrument remaining
onboard. The new equipment set to be installed should give it a much needed
boost in longevity and ability to collect data.
The shuttle's seven-astronaut
crew plans to arrive at Cape Canaveral this afternoon aboard NASA jets
flown in from Houston's Johnson Space Center.
Veteran spaceflyer Scott Altman will command the 11-day
mission, which is set to include five spacewalks to overhaul the orbiting
observatory. The astronauts plan to install a new camera and other new
instruments, as well as replace broken gyroscopes and old batteries. This last
planned upgrade should extend Hubble's life by at least five years.
In case anything should go seriously wrong during the
mission, a second space shuttle — Endeavour — is ready to lift off from Launch
Pad 39B to rescue
the crew if needed. This backup plan is unusual, because most shuttle
missions are headed to the International Space Station, where astronauts can
take shelter if there is trouble with their own spacecraft.
SPACE.com is providing continuous coverage of STS-125
with senior editor Tariq Malik at Cape Canaveral and reporter Clara Moskowitz
in New York. Click here
for mission updates and SPACE.com's live NASA TV video feed.
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