The Critical Path

Details The Critical Path The Critical Path

Dec 2001

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2001stin...0171968o&link_type=abstract

Journal Issue, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD United States

Other

Hubble Space Telescope, Maintenance, Upgrading, Improvement

Scientific paper

The Hubble Space Telescope team is hard at work preparing to make the spectacularly successful observatory even more productive. The next 370-mile high service call, STS-109, is currently scheduled for November 2001. On this mission, astronauts will install a powerful new camera, a more efficient set of solar arrays, and a new power control unit. They will also retrofit an existing infrared instrument with a cooling system that is expected to restore its capabilities and extend its life. Other tasks include placing thermal panels on Hubble for increased protection from the harsh space environment. From the beginning, Hubble was designed to be upgraded as new technology became available. Its planners knew that technology would evolve rapidly, and they wanted Hubble to evolve right along with it. So, at regular intervals astronauts pay service calls to 'soup up' the telescope with powerful new instruments and perform routine maintenance. Servicing allows Hubble to stay on the cutting edge of technology throughout its 20-year mission.

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