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Astronauts successfully install new Wide Field Camera 3 on Hubble
By Space News, May 14th, 2009




- STS-125 astronauts remove the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 from the Hubble Space Telescope. Credit: NASA TV


The spacewalkers have successfully installed the Wide Field Camera 3 on Hubble and stowed the old camera, WFPC 2 (Photos), inside its protective enclosure for the return trip home. The spacewalkers’ next major task will be the replacement of the Science Instrument Command and Data Handling Unit.

The computer sends commands to Hubble’s science instruments and formats science data for transmission to the ground. The on orbit unit experienced computer anomalies in September 2008. NASA decided that the prudent thing to do was to delay the planned October 2008 launch of Atlantis on the Hubble servicing mission until this ground spare was ready to fly.


• Photos: http://hubblesite.org

- Astronauts remove Hubble's first Wide Field and Planetary Camera to replace it with its more powerful successor, Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2, during Hubble’s first servicing mission in 1993. The camera, shaped something like a grand piano, weighs 610 pounds (277 kg) on Earth, but nothing in space. It can detect stars a billion times fainter than the ones we can see with our eyes. Most of Hubble’s most popular pictures have been taken with this second camera. (more)

NASA

Hubble's Wide Field and Planetary Camera
NASA overview




- Camera installation on Hubble S.T. by space shuttle astronaut - More at: http://sci.esa.int/science


NASA's schoolbus-sized Hubble Space Telescope contains a 2.5-meter-diameter (8-foot) mirror that collects light from extremely distant objects in deep space. This light is brought to focus at a particular point where any one of five onboard instruments can turn it into pictures that are sent by radio to Earth. For years the main instrument used for taking general pictures of stars, galaxies and planets has been JPL's Wide Field and Planetary Camera.

The instrument actually consists of four internal camera systems: three wide-field cameras, and one narrow-field camera. The wide-field cameras give the telescope a panoramic view, providing the greatest sensitivity for faint objects. The planetary camera provides about 2.2 times the resolution of the other three systems, but with a smaller field of view. All four cameras are sensitive to light from the far ultraviolet to the near infrared.


• Chandra.harvard.edu

- The Whirlpool Galaxy photographed by Hubble's second camera the Wide Field/Planetary Camera 2


The original Wide Field/Planetary Camera was installed on the Hubble telescope when it was first launched into Earth orbit on a space shuttle on April 24, 1990. Scientists soon discovered, however, that a tiny error in the curvature of the space telescope's main mirror made it impossible to focus images sharply. Fortunately, JPL engineers determined that by changing the optics of the camera instrument, the telescope's problem could be overcome.

The next camera instrument, called the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2, was installed on the Hubble telescope by spacewalking astronauts on a space shuttle mission launched on December 2, 1993. This brought Hubble's vision to perfect focus, and over the next few years the space telescope has relayed phenomenal pictures and made possible a variety of discoveries. The first camera instrument was a joint project of JPL and the California Institute of Technology. The second camera was designed and built by JPL.



• PBS: The Whirlpool galaxy, M51

- Galaxies are gigantic cities of stars, typically measuring 100,000 light years in diameter and containing over 100 billion stars. The Sun and all the other stars we see in the sky belong to one such galaxy, the Milky Way. Through a telescope one can see many other galaxies—such as the Whirlpool galaxy, in the constellation Ursa Major, the big bear. (more)





- Cygnus becomes a more recognizable pattern when we envision it as Cygnus, the swan. (The bright blue-white star to the left is Vega, in Lyra, the lyre.) To learn the constellations tonight, download a star chart for your location. (more)


• CYGNUS the (Stellar swan)

- April 3, 2009: On April 1-2, the Hubble Space Telescope photographed the winning target in the Space Telescope Science Institute's "You Decide" competition in celebration of the International Year of Astronomy (IYA) (http://www.iya2009.de). The winner is a group of galaxies called Arp 274. The striking object received 67,021 votes out of the nearly 140,000 votes cast for the six candidate targets.


Arp 274, also known as NGC 5679, is a system of three galaxies that appear to be partially overlapping in the image, although they may be at somewhat different distances. The spiral shapes of two of these galaxies appear mostly intact. The third galaxy (to the far left) is more compact, but shows evidence of star formation. Two of the three galaxies are forming new stars at a high rate. This is evident in the bright blue knots of star formation that are strung along the arms of the galaxy on the right and along the small galaxy on the left. The largest component is located in the middle of the three. It appears as a spiral galaxy, which may be barred. The entire system resides at about 400 million light-years away from Earth in the constellation Virgo.

Hubble’s Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 was used to image Arp 274. Blue, visible, and infrared filters were combined with a filter that isolates hydrogen emission. The colors in this image reflect the intrinsic color of the different stellar populations that make up the galaxies. Yellowish older stars can be seen in the central bulge of each galaxy. A bright central cluster of stars pinpoint each nucleus. Younger blue stars trace the spiral arms, along with pinkish nebulae that are illuminated by new star formation. Interstellar dust is silhouetted against the starry population. A pair of foreground stars inside our own Milky Way are at far right. (more)

Source: Hubblesite.org
NASA: http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a0 ... index.html

• Spaceinfo.com.au


- Astronomers, using the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 on board NASA's Hubble Space Telescope in October and November 1997 and April 1999, imaged the Bubble Nebula (NGC 7635) with unprecedented clarity. For the first time, they are able to understand the geometry and dynamics of this very complicated system. Earlier pictures taken of the nebula with the Wide Field Planetary Camera 1 left many issues unanswered, as the data could not be fully calibrated for scientific use. In addition, those data never imaged the enigmatic inner structure presented here. The remarkably spherical "Bubble" marks the boundary between an intense wind of particles from the star and the more quiescent interior of the nebula. (more)

More images on NASA and JPL archive. Video: Astronauts repair Hubble


• Global Media Coverage: Hubble Servicing Mission 4


Around the Web:

NASA - NASA TV
NASA - Space Shuttle
NASA - NASA's Shuttle and Rocket Missions
NASA - Kennedy Space Center Home Page
YouTube - Space Shuttle Atlantis Launch
Spacevidcast on USTREAM: Making Space Commonplace.
SPACE.com -- Weather Looks Good for Monday Space Shuttle Launch
Space Shuttle Launch: VIDEO Atlantis Blasts Off To Hubble Telescope
N.Y.Times: Astronauts Replace 16-Year-Old Camera on Hubble (Photos) http://hubble.nasa.gov

- Videos: Spaceports.blogspot - Web photos

- The Hubble Space Telescope in the space shuttle's payload bay. More: Orbitalhub.com

Guardian: Hubble telescope repair attempt with spacewalk

STS-125 spacewalkers prepare to install Hubble’s Cosmic Origins Spectrograph.
By Space News, May 16th, 2009

Astronauts John Grunsfeld and Andrew Feustel began the third of five STS-125 spacewalks at 9:35 a.m. EDT. For this spacewalk, the spacewalkers will focus on the installation of the telescope’s new Cosmic Origins Spectrograph, and the first part of the Advanced Camera for Surveys repair work. Grunsfeld will begin by preparing a temporary storage fixture in the shuttle’s cargo bay, while Feustel opens the doors of the telescope bay he and Grunsfeld will be working in. Grunsfeld then will get the Corrective Optics Space Telescope Axial Replacement - or COSTAR - ready for removal by unhooking four connectors, disconnecting one ground strap and unscrewing two latches. Feustel, again on the shuttle’s robotic arm, will actually remove the equipment and attach it to the temporary storage fixture prepared by Grunsfeld.
The spacewalk is scheduled to last 6.5 hours. (more)



- Deastronomy.blogspot.com

More from Space and Astronautics News:


• Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite prepared for launch


On the Delta IV at Launch Complex 37, the three linear shape charges which are to be modified have been removed from the rocket. Meanwhile, data from the second wet dress rehearsal and the flight program verification that followed are undergoing the customary review. However, there appear to be no significant concerns. At the Astrotech Space Operations Facility, the GOES-O spacecraft is enclosed in the payload fairing. The spacecraft remains in excellent health and is ready to be moved to the launch pad on June 6. NASA has contracted with Boeing to build and launch the GOES-O spacecraft. The NASA Launch Services Program at Kennedy is supporting the launch in an advisory role. NASA spacecraft project management for GOES-O is the responsibility of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. After launch, once Boeing and NASA have completed on-orbit checkout and the spacecraft is operational, it will be turned over to NOAA. (more)

• Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter/LCROSS launch date changed.

• www.planetarium-nuernberg.de


Show, 17.05 and 20.05.2009: "Augen im All – Vorstoß ins unsichtbare Universum" Neue Planetariumsshow im Int. Jahr der Astronomie
Show: "Eyes in Space - Advance into the invisible Universe". New Show in the Planetarium Nuremberg in the Year of Astronomy 2009


Below are images from the Astronomy show in the Planetarium in Nuremberg. http://www.iya2009.de


















Nicolai Copernicus Planetarium



www.naa.net/ncp

Space News

ESA announces new research opportunities in space.
By Space News, May 15th, 2009




- The International Space Station is seen from Space Shuttle Discovery as the two spacecraft begin their relative separation. Earlier the STS-119 and Expedition 18 crews concluded 9 days, 20 hours and 10 minutes of cooperative work onboard the shuttle and station. Undocking of the two spacecraft occurred at 2:53 p.m. (CDT) on March 25, 2009. Credit: NASA


ESA’s Directorate of Human Spaceflight calls for new research ideas for experiments to be conducted on the International Space Station, in bed rest study analogues and on sounding rockets. These Announcements of Opportunity strongly promote international research teams and the participation of industrial R&D partners. The overall Announcement of Opportunity 2009 is made in the framework of the European Programme for Life and Physical Sciences (ELIPS).

The International Life Science Research Announcement (ILSRA) from the ISS Partners covers experiments in life sciences on the International Space Station (ISS), and is complemented by ESA’s Announcement of Opportunity for physical sciences using the ISS. Additionally, the announcement covers all research domains on sounding rockets, parabolic flights and bed rest studies. In 2008, Europe completed two major elements of its contribution to the Station; the on-orbit delivery of the European Columbus laboratory and the flight of ESA’s first Automated Transfer Vehicle. These and other events marked the start of a new phase of the utilisation of the ISS by all the International Partners and by ESA in particular. The research facilities launched together with Columbus were commissioned on orbit, and the first series of experiments were started.


- The Jules Verne ATV approaches the ISS. Credit: NASA/ESA



Europe has since become a main scientific user of the ISS and as a result has been able to expand its international competitiveness in various aspects of health research, innovative materials and processes and has achieved important scientific results in plasma and fluid physics, exobiology and space biology. Further research facilities and series of experiments are already scheduled for flight in the coming months and years. This Announcement of Opportunity also comes at a time when the ISS Partners are discussing a possible long-term extension of the lifetime of the Station past 2015. To stay at the forefront of scientific research in microgravity, ESA is now asking the scientific community to propose new research experiments for the ISS, bed rest analogue studies for exploration preparation and sounding rockets. As done in the past, all proposals will be peer group reviewed in order to maintain the outstanding quality of the experiments so far conducted in the framework of ELIPS.

“ELIPS has already lead to scientific advances in a variety disciplines since its inception in 2001, advances that have, and will have, a positive impact on European citizens and processes on Earth as well as on future spaceflight activities,” says Simonetta Di Pippo, ESA Director of Human Spaceflight. “Now the third ELIPS period will further strengthen Europe’s very strong position in research, building on the capabilities already in place.” To help scientists find the optimum way through the proposal process, a researcher workshop will be held on 22-23 June 2009 at ESA’s research and technology centre, ESTEC, in Noordwijk, the Netherlands. Non-binding Letters of Intent are due on 15 June 2009. The deadline for submitting proposals is 14 September 2009. For more details of the Announcement of Opportunity 2009, visit http://www.esa.int/spaceflight/ao2009.

The ELIPS programme is intended to prepare and perform research in fundamental and applied life and physical sciences on the ISS and other mission platforms such as sounding rockets, parabolic flights and drop towers. ELIPS ensures that Europe’s investment in the development and exploitation of the ISS produces the best scientific results. To achieve this, ELIPS promotes global cooperation, international peer review of research proposals and European coordination in facility development and resource utilisation. In order to enable and enhance worldwide cooperation in space life sciences, the International Life Science Research Announcement (ILSRA) is coordinated between the ISS Partners and released in parallel with them.

Photos: ESA's Columbus Laboratory attached to the ISS

Photos: One Day in Space

Photos: View to Earth from the ISS

Photos: The International Space Station turns 10