Space and Space Travel News

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Ariane 5 in the final assembly building in the launch site on 13 May 2009.

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- Herschel and Planck launcher at launch pad

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- Ariane 5 enclosing Herschel and Planck in the Ariane launch area, at Europe's Spaceport in French Guyana on 13 May 2009. Credits: ESA - S. Corvaja, 2009

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- Thomas Passvogel, ESA Herschel and Planck Project Manager

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- Aerial view of various launch complexes at Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. Credits: ESA - S. Corvaja

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• Herschel Telescope ready to go • Links and Photos

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• Planck Space Telescope • The PLANCK satellite - Photos: ESA


For more information on the critical events following launch, see:


• ESA: Slideshow


• The Herschel and Planck launch timeline
• The Herschel-Planck channel on Twitter • ESA: Herschel-Planck Coverage • Photos: Herschel and Planck Telescopes

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ESA Latest News and Photos: http://herschel.esac.esa.int/latest_news.shtml

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• ESA: Ariane 5 carrying Herschel and Planck lifts off • Photos and Video • Herschel and Planck talk to Earth • Video

- At 15:12:02 CEST, at the beginning of a 55-minute launch window, the Herschel and Planck satellite pair lifted off on board an Ariane 5 from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. The satellites are expected to separate from the rocket Herschel will be launched in tandem with Planck on board an Ariane 5 rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. The two spacecraft will separate about half an hour after launch, establish their first contact with Earth about 10 minutes after separation and head independently towards their respective orbits around the second Lagrange point of the Sun-Earth system (L2). This point is situated some 1.5 million km from Earth, in the direction opposite to the Sun.





- Herschel was launched on 14 May 2009! The Herschel launch campaign was brought to an end by a flawless launch into the sky above Kourou. The Ariane 5 ECA launcher disappeared from sight after just a couple of minutes, and Herschel was later released into its desired transfer trajectory 26 minutes after liftoff. Additional information can be found on the ESA - Herschel & Planck - Launch Special and 'SciTech' websites, as well as on the Arianespace's - Video Corner website.

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BBC

Two shuttle astronauts have completed the first of five spacewalks to repair and upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope.
By BBC News, May 14, 2009


• Web Photos


John Grunsfeld and Drew Feustel spent almost seven hours working on the observatory, and achieved all of their primary objectives. Chief among these was the installation of a new instrument, the Wide Field Camera 3, which will allow Hubble to see deeper into space than ever before.

They also exchanged a data processing computer that failed last year. The break-down had left Hubble with no back-up for the unit it currently uses to route all its wonderful images to Earth. The replacement passed its initial connection tests with flying colours, ensuring Hubble now has full redundancy for its data processing tasks. Other work included fixing a mechanism that will enable a robotic spacecraft to capture Hubble at some future date. This should ensure there is a safe means to de-orbit the observatory at the end of its life. Thursday's spacewalk was not without incident. Before the astronauts could install the Wide Field Camera 3, they had to remove the existing Wide Field Planetary Camera 2.


• Video: Hubble repairs


This took some time when a bolt refused to come loose as expected. The spacewalkers tried a number of different tools; but when they failed to move the bolt also, mission control authorised the astronauts to use as much force as possible. It was an anxious moment, because had the bolt broken the old camera would have been stuck in place and the new instrument would have had to return to Earth. "OK, here we go," Feustel said as he forced the bolt. "I think I've got it. It turned. It definitely turned." And then he said: "Woo-hoo, it's moving out!"

Space shuttle Atlantis met up with Hubble on Wednesday while both were circling the Earth some 560km (350 miles) above the ground. Atlantis' robotic arm was used to grab hold of Hubble. The telescope was pulled down on to a bench that can turn and tilt to give the spacewalking astronauts easy access to its system bays. The shuttle launched from Florida's Kennedy Space Center on Monday. It is due to return to Earth on Friday of next week.


• STS 125 Flight Day Gallery

Named after the great US astronomer Edwin Hubble. Launched in 1990 into a 600km-high circular orbit. Equipped with a 2.4m primary mirror and five instruments. Length: 15.9m; diameter: 4.2m; Mass: 11,110kg. • In pictures: Best Images of Hubble

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• The Herschel Space Telescope developed and launched to research the formation of the stars and galaxies. The Planck Telescope was developed to research the "cosmic microwave background radiation" (CMR) believed to come from the "big bang" which supposed to have happened before 13,5 billion years. Hundreds of people in 100 companies and institutions from 15 European countries worked for the last 15 years together to develop and build the Herschel and Planck space telescopes. No European country has the technical and knowledge abilities to realize such a project on its own. The cost for this telescopes were 2 billion euros.

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- Among the first group of still images downlinked by the STS-125 crewmembers onboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis was this high oblique scene looking toward the Red Sea, Sinai Peninsula and the Mediterranean Sea. Saudi Arabia is in the foreground and Egypt's Nile River and its delta can be seen (left) toward the horizon. Israel and Jordan can be seen near the top edge of the frame. The Gulf of Suez and the Gulf of Aqaba (near frame center) extend from the Red Sea toward the Mediterranean Sea. Credit: NASA

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- March 6, 2002: Astronauts John M. Grunsfeld (top) and Richard M. Linnehan participate in a 6 hour, 48 minute space walk designed to install a new Power Control Unit (PCU) on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). The two went on to replace the original unit launched with the telescope in April 1990. Grunsfeld is on the end of Columbia's Remote Manipulator System (RMS) robotic arm, controlled from inside the crew cabin by astronaut Nancy J. Currie. The image was recorded with a digital still camera. Credit: NASA


• STS-125 Space Shuttle Atlantis closes in on Hubble Telescope


• Space News: www.space.gs/index.html

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Space News

STS-125 astronauts begin first spacewalk of Hubble Servicing Mission 4
By Space News, May 14th, 2009





Feustel began the first of five STS-125 spacewalks at 8:52 a.m. EDT. Grunsfeld is wearing a spacesuit marked with solid red stripes. He has five previous spacewalks in support of Hubble during STS-103 and STS-109. This is Feustel’s first spacewalk. He is wearing an all white spacesuit. Mike Massimino and Michael Good will work inside the shuttle as the intravehicular officers, or spacewalk choreographers. Megan McArthur will work with the spacewalkers from the inside to operate the shuttle’s 50-foot-long robotic arm as needed.





Before proceeding to the task of removing the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2, or WFPC 2, and installing WFC III, the spacewalkers will do setup work. They will release latches, set up a foot restraint on the robotic arm, install a fixture to temporarily hold equipment and the berthing and positioning system post that will protect the telescope’s solar arrays from vibration while the spacewalkers are working.





Image credits: NASA TV

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Space News: Astronauts Mike Massimino and Michael Good began the second of five STS-125 spacewalks


NASA: Video

- Mike Good rides on the shuttle’s robotic arm at the start of the second of five Hubble servicing spacewalks. Credit: NASA TV


During the STS-125 mission’s fifth day, astronauts Good and Mike Massimino and are performing the second of five Hubble servicing spacewalks. The spacewalkers are set to replace three rate sensor units and the telescope’s Bay 2 batteries. The spacewalk is set to last six and a half hours. Earlier, astronaut Megan McArthur powered up the Shuttle’s robotic arm to do a quick survey of some tiles on the shuttle’s underbelly that were missed during the Flight Day 2 inspection. It’s an exercise to just complete the imagery. There are no issues. The survey lasted about 45 minutes. Continued...





- The Hubble Space Telescope with the Earth in the background viewed from Atlantis during grappling. Credit: NASA TV


• Space News (May 14th, 2009): STS-125 Mission: NASA's spacewalkers install Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3.




- The Sun rises over the Hubble Telescope - viewed from Atlantis during berthing on May 13. Credit: NASA TV


- Astronaut Grunsfeld and Feustel have completed their setup tasks. Inside the station, McArthur is maneuvering Feustel into position for the removal of the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2, or WFPC 2. They’ll replace it with a new wide-field camera that will allow the telescope to take large-scale, clear and detailed photos over a wide range of colors. Grunsfeld is taking advantage of the time it takes Feustel to get into place by installing a protective cover on Hubble’s low-gain antenna. Once that’s done, he’ll join Feustel at the WFPC 2. To remove the camera, Feustel will simply release a blind-mate connector, a grounding strap and a latch, and allow the camera to slide out on some guide rails, while Grunsfeld monitors the camera’s clearance. The camera will be temporarily stored on the fixture Grunsfeld deployed, while the astronauts move on to the installation of the new Wide Field Camera 3. (more)

• Space Telescope Operations Control Center - Flight Day 5
• Hubble's Eye - After astronauts fix its faulty optics, the Hubble ST peers back through time to the depths of the cosmos (more info)
• STS-125 coverage: http://space.gs/sts-125