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Astronauts Release Hubble on Final Run

Telescope to go where no one has gone before, never return

(Newser) - Atlantis' astronauts gingerly dropped the Hubble Space Telescope overboard today, sending the restored observatory off on a new voyage of discovery and bidding it farewell on behalf of the planet, reports the AP. The shuttle and telescope had just crossed the Atlantic, and were soaring 350 miles above the coast...

Astronauts Take Final Hubble Spacewalk

The final mission to repair the telescope will finish Tuesday

(Newser) - Spacewalking astronauts ventured out today to finish repairs on the Hubble Space Telescope, never to be touched by human hands again. It was the fifth and final spacewalk for the crew of the shuttle Atlantis, and the final planned visit by astronauts, ever, to Hubble. The astronauts outfitted Hubble with...

Stuck Bolt Throws Wrench in Hubble Repairs

Spacewalk becomes sixth longest in history

(Newser) - Yesterday was a frustratingly long day in space as Atlantis astronauts struggled to fix a long-broken spectrograph on the Hubble Space Telescope. They ultimately succeeded, but a stuck bolt and dead battery prolonged the spacewalk to 8 hours—making it the sixth longest in history, Space.com reports. Astronauts also...

Spacewalking Astronauts Fix Hubble Gyroscopes

Spacewalk is second of five planned

(Newser) - Astronauts from the shuttle Atlantis headed out for another spacewalk today, this time to give the Hubble telescope some new gyroscopes and batteries. The gyroscopes—a top priority—are part of the telescope pointing system, and half of the old ones are broken. The two space walkers ventured out as...

Hubble Gets New Camera
 Hubble Gets New Camera 
May 14, 2009 4:58 PM CDT

Hubble Gets New Camera

(Newser) - The Hubble space telescope got some improved vision today in the form of a new camera. Two Atlantis astronauts completed a seven-hour spacewalk to give the 19-year-old telescope a much-needed upgrade, Space.com reports. "Woo-hoo, it's moving out," said astronaut Andrew Feustel after the old camera refused to...

Shuttle Atlantis Snags Hubble
 Shuttle Atlantis Snags Hubble 
May 13, 2009 12:52 PM CDT

Shuttle Atlantis Snags Hubble

(Newser) - The Atlantis astronauts have captured the Hubble Space Telescope, grabbing the orbiting observatory early this afternoon for the first time since 2002. Astronaut Megan McArthur caught the school bus-sized telescope with the space shuttle's robot arm. The crew now faces five days of treacherous telescope repairs to the 19-year-old Hubble.

Atlantis Lifts Off on Mission to Hubble

(Newser) - The space shuttle Atlantis and seven astronauts blasted off today en route to the Hubble Space Telescope. It is NASA's final trip to Hubble and comes after a seven-month delay. Atlantis and its crew were supposed to fly to Hubble last fall, but the telescope broke down. The telescope is...

Last Tweaks Will Rocket Hubble to Final Frontier

$10b telescope snapped many of space's mysteries

(Newser) - Today's launch of the Atlantis shuttle marks the beginning of the end for Hubble. The space telescope is scheduled to get its final set of repairs, extending its life and giving it greater abilities than ever before. "Everything we have done up to this point has been in preparation...

NASA Gives Atlantis Crew Go Ahead for Hubble Rescue

Oft-delayed mission set to launch tomorrow

(Newser) - NASA has declared space shuttle Atlantis' crew fit to fly, and weather permitting, the much-delayed 11-day mission to fix the Hubble Space Telescope will take off tomorrow, reports Space.com. Endeavour is standing by just in case Atlantis itself needs rescuing. The mission includes five spacewalks and lots of tinkering...

NASA Space Flight Review Worries Workers

Thousands of jobs at stake when shuttle retires next year

(Newser) - A NASA review of manned space-flight plans has Kennedy Space Center workers and contractors fearing for their jobs, the Orlando Sentinel reports. A panel will investigate whether rockets set to carry humans into space after the shuttle fleet is retired next year are really NASA’s best bets. Some worry...

Rare Rocket Launch in Va. May Wow East Coast

(Newser) - A rare mid-Atlantic rocket launch could give Americans up and down the East Coast a special night sight next week, Space.com reports. NASA's launch of a spy satellite from Wallops Island in Virginia is scheduled after sunset Tuesday, with a window of 8 to 11pm. Similar events, mostly on...

UFO Watchers Abuzz Over Mars 'Skull'

(Newser) - UFO watchers are speculating online that a NASA image of a Martian landscape may show an alien skull, reports the Telegraph. "There appears to be a narrow pointed small mouth, so this creature most likely is a carnivore," noted one. An image that looked surprisingly like a skull...

Surprise: Mercury Has a Personality

(Newser) - Mercury's not such a dull planet after all. A new batch of papers in Science spells out evidence of a busy volcanic past and describes an unusual impact crater that would stretch from Boston to DC, reports Wired. The papers, which draw from the October flyby of NASA's Messenger craft,...

After 4 Decades, Physicist Solves Mystery of Moon Dust

After decades of wondering, Aussie explains its stickiness

(Newser) - Moon dust has been a “bloody nuisance” to NASA for decades, says a physicist: it sticks to spacesuits, clogs instruments, and could be a health risk for future colonists. Scientists believe the stickiness is due to a positive charge from the sun’s rays, NASA says. Now the physicist,...

NASA Names Treadmill After Colbert

NASA declines to name new nodule after vote-winning Colbert Report host

(Newser) - Steven Colbert missed out on getting the new International Space Station node named after him despite winning a non-binding vote, Space.com reports. NASA decided to call the node Tranquility in honor of Apollo 11's touchdown site 40 years ago, and to console the TV host by naming an astronaut...

NASA to Reveal Module's Name on Colbert Tomorrow

(Newser) - The name of the new life-support node for the International Space Station will be announced tomorrow night on The Colbert Report by a NASA astronaut, InformationWeek reports. At the host’s urging, Colbert fans stuffed online ballot boxes to name the unit, though NASA doesn’t have to comply. “...

NASA, Pols Cringe at Space Station Costs

Washington standoff delays funding, key nomination

(Newser) - After years of wrangling, the US and other operators of the International Space Station have resolved to keep the facility operating through 2020, but the 5-year extension deal is creating new challenges, the Wall Street Journal reports. Washington will need to fork out at least $10 billion, which could cut...

Discovery Lands in Florida
 Discovery Lands in Florida 
updated
Mar 28, 2009 2:17 PM CDT

Discovery Lands in Florida

(Newser) - Shuttle Discovery and its crew of seven returned to Earth today and successfully wrapped up a construction mission that left the international space station with all its solar wings and extra electrical power. Discovery swooped through a cloudy sky and landed at NASA's spaceport in midafternoon, a little later than...

India Struggles to Create Astronaut 'Space Curry'

(Newser) - One of the biggest challenges of India’s burgeoning space program is culinary, the London Times reports. Researchers at the country’s defense science lab are struggling to adapt the complex, spicy national cuisine into something that will work in space. “Curry tends to be spicy, high in fat...

'Colbert' Wins Space Station Name Contest

NASA will have final say

(Newser) - The Colbert Nation did it: NASA’s contest to name a new room at the International Space Station is over, and the winner is “Colbert,” the AP reports. But don’t get too excited yet, Nation: The agency makes the final decision, and only promises to give top...

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