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STS-125: The mission

A detailed step-by-step preview of space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission to extend the life and vision of the Hubble Space Telescope.

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STS-125: The EVAs

The lead spacewalk officer provides indepth explanations of the five EVAs to service Hubble during Atlantis' flight.

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STS-125: The crew

The seven shuttle Atlantis astronauts hold a press conference one month before their planned launch to Hubble.

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STS-125: NASA leaders

The leaders of NASA's Space Operations and Science directorates give their insights into the upcoming shuttle mission to the Hubble Space Telescope.

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STS-125: Shuttle boss

The head of NASA's space shuttle program discusses the risks and plans for Atlantis' trek to Hubble.

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The Hubble program

An overview of the Hubble Space Telescope program and the planning that has gone into the final servicing mission.

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Hubble's future science

The new instruments to be installed into Hubble and the future science objectives for the observatory are previewed.

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Meet the Hubble crew

Meet the crew launching on Atlantis' STS-125 mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope and learn how each became an astronaut in this special biography movie.

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After high-stakes drama, crew removes old camera
BY WILLIAM HARWOOD
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS "SPACE PLACE" & USED WITH PERMISSION
Posted: May 14, 2009

In a make-or-break attempt to free a stuck bolt holding an old camera in place on the Hubble Space Telescope, astronaut Andrew Feustel, anchored to the end of the shuttle Atlantis' robot arm, used old-fashioned elbow grease to save the day, releasing the bolt and clearing the way for installation of a powerful new camera.


Riding on the end of Atlantis' robot arm, Feustel carries the old WFPC2 away from Hubble. Credit: NASA TV
 
If the bolt had snapped - and that was a possibility - the astronauts would have been unable to remove the 16-year-old Wide Field Planetary Camera 2. In that case, the new $126 Wide Field Camera 3 would have been returned to Earth aboard Atlantis in a major disappointment for the Hubble team.

But after removing a torque limiter from his wrench and applying more muscle power, Feustel was able to loosen the bolt to the relief of concerned flight controllers. He and partner John Grunsfeld then removed the old camera without incident.

Dubbed "the camera that saved Hubble" by project scientists, WFPC 2 took most of the spectacular photos that have made Hubble a national icon since it was installed in the telescope during the first servicing mission in 1993.

"It's been in there for 16 years, Drew, and it didn't want to come out," Grunsfeld said.

Feustel first attempted to back off the bolt using the torque limiter and was unsuccessful. Grunsfeld returned to the shuttle airlock, retrieved additional tools and sockets and Feustel tried again. And again, he was unsuccessful.

"Drew, do you have any other suggestions before I check with Houston?" astronaut Mike Massimino called from inside the shuttle.

"No, I'm afraid I don't. I'm out," Feustel said.

Working through a contingency checklist, Feustel then removed the torque limiter from his wrench - the device that was limiting the applied torque to 45 inch pounds - before trying to apply more elbow grease directly to the stuck bolt.

"Houston, Atlantis ... we know the failure torque on this bolt is 57.1 foot pounds," Massimino radioed. "He had the MTL (multi-setting torque limiter) set at 45. What the crib sheet says if we don't get it to break (loose) here, we're going to reconnect the ground strap and blind mate connector. So I guess Drew's just wondering how hard he should try on this A latch? If you have any words for us, we'd appreciate it."

"Atlantis, Houston, we copy that. And thanks for asking," replied Dan Burbank in mission control. "There's actually no issue with having the latch taken all the way to the failure point. The instrument should still function. So Drew can have at it, and you're correct, if we get to that point, we will need to reconnect the ground strap blind mate connector and we'll just leave it as is."

"So in other words, he can use what he needs from his strength to try to break the torque, is that what you're telling us?" Massimino asked.

"That's exactly right," Burbank said. "And as soon as he does, if he's successful, starts to have some motion in the latch, we'd like to go ahead and stop at that point."

"OK, thanks, Dan."

"OK, but I think we understand if it breaks, then Wide Field (Planetary Camera 2) stays in," Grunsfeld chimed in, verifying the make-or-break nature of the next step.

"What john said is correct," Burbank confirmed.

"OK, here we go," Feustel said, attaching the socket, sans torque limiter, to the attach bolt. Then, a moment later: "I think I got it! It turned, it definitely turned. And it's turning easily now."

"OK, Atlantis, Houston, for EVA, we copy, that's great news," Burbank said.

A few minutes later, Feustel attached a power wrench and backed the bolt out all the way to free the camera.

"Woo hoo, it's moving out" he said.

"That's great news," Massimino said. "That's awesome."

With astronaut Megan McArthur operating the robot arm from inside the shuttle's crew cabin, Feustel carefully pulled WFPC 2 out of the space telescope at just before 11 a.m. to accomplish the first primary objective of today's spacewalk. After securing the camera on the side of the payload bay, he and Grunsfeld will retrieve the new Wide Field Camera 3 from its storage container in the shuttle's cargo bay so it can be installed in the telescope in place of WFPC 2.

Earlier today, Feustel provided a brief report on contamination that was spotted on the WFC 3 carrier box after launch.

"For you in Houston, just looking at the front of the W-SIPE (Wide Field Camera scientific instrument protective enclosure), I don't really see any of those particles, there's maybe a really small amount of what kind of looks like dust, but it's pretty minor," Feustel reported. "It's almost imperceivable. I can see some few particles on the front of the W-SIPE, little, whitish, grey looking, real small. It's low density, too."

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VIDEO: WEDNESDAY NIGHT UPDATE FROM HST CONTROL CENTER PLAY
VIDEO: WEDNESDAY'S MISSION MANAGEMENT TEAM UPDATE PLAY
VIDEO: WEDNESDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: TIME-LAPSE OF MOVING HUBBLE INTO PAYLOAD BAY PLAY
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VIDEO: TUESDAY'S MISSION MANAGEMENT TEAM UPDATE PLAY
VIDEO: SLOW-MOTION OF DEBRIS THAT APPARENTLY HIT TILES PLAY
VIDEO: TILE DAMAGE FOUND DURING INSPECTIONS PLAY
VIDEO: CAPCOM CALLS CREW ABOUT MINOR DAMAGE PLAY
VIDEO: TUESDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: PREVIEW ANIMATION OF HEAT SHIELD INSPECTIONS PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 1 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: THE FULL STS-125 LAUNCH EXPERIENCE PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: EXTERNAL TANK CAMERA PLAY
VIDEO: FOOTAGE OF FUEL TANK AFTER JETTISON PLAY

VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: FRONT CAMERA PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: BEACH TRACKER PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: PAD PERIMETER PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: UCS-23 TRACKER PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA CS-1 PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA CS-2 PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA CS-6 PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: VAB ROOF PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: PRESS SITE PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: WEST TOWER PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA 009 PLAY
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VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA 050 PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA 051 PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA 060 PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA 061 PLAY
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VIDEO: SPACE SHUTTLE ATLANTIS BLASTS OFF! PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: STS-125 POST-LAUNCH NEWS CONFERENCE PLAY
VIDEO: INSIDE MISSION CONTROL DURING LAUNCH PLAY
VIDEO: NARRATED ANIMATION OF DAY 1 INSPECTIONS PLAY

VIDEO: FINAL PRE-LAUNCH READINESS POLLS CONDUCTED PLAY
VIDEO: SHUTTLE'S CREW MODULE HATCH CLOSED FOR FLIGHT PLAY
VIDEO: MISSION SPECIALIST MEGAN MCARTHUR BOARDS PLAY
VIDEO: PILOT GREG JOHNSON BOARDS ATLANTIS PLAY
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VIDEO: SUNDAY'S COUNTDOWN STATUS AND WEATHER UPDATE PLAY
VIDEO: THE STS-125 PRE-LAUNCH NEWS CONFERENCE PLAY
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VIDEO: INTERVIEW WITH PILOT GREG JOHNSON PLAY
VIDEO: INTERVIEW WITH MS1 MIKE GOOD PLAY
VIDEO: INTERVIEW WITH MS2 MEGAN MCARTHUR PLAY
VIDEO: INTERVIEW WITH MS3 JOHN GRUNSFELD PLAY | '09 UPDATE
VIDEO: INTERVIEW WITH MS4 MIKE MASSIMINO PLAY | '09 UPDATE
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