Astronauts finish repairs on inside of Hubble

[Old Coot]

Source: Associated Press

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – After five amazing days, spacewalking astronauts finished repair work on the Hubble Space Telescope on Monday and shut the doors to the treasured observatory, which will never be touched by human hands again. NASA said the revived telescope will be better than ever thanks to the astronauts' efforts and should provide even more dazzling views of the universe for another five to 10 years.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090518/ap_on_sc/us_shuttle_hubble

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So far, so good. Now, if they make it back to ground safely, it will be great!

[Captain Hilts]

1. I've changed my avatar back to NASA as a show of support! nt

[slackmaster]

2. Those guys are good

[applegrove]

3. Just amazing what they did and how dangerous a trip it was. Wish them godspeed on their

trip home.

[HopeHoops]

4. My baby is back in action!

Made me tear up a bit. I was the lead developer of the requirements database for Hubble back in 83, 84.

:grouphug: NASA!

[CLANG]

5. Let's face reality

These astronauts are expendable pawns to the powers that be. I wish them Godspeed in their return to mother earth.

[maddezmom]

6. kick

[Old Coot]

7. Astronauts bid fond farewell to restored Hubble

Source: AFP

HOUSTON, Texas (AFP) – US astronauts aboard the shuttle Atlantis bid the Hubble telescope a wistful farewell Tuesday, ending a grueling revamp to equip the aging stargazer to explore the cosmos for years to come.

Astronaut Megan McArthur, the robot arm operator, released Hubble off the shuttle's right wing after carefully hoisting it out of the shuttle's cargo bay, letting it sail away to continue its groundbreaking observations and make more potentially significant discoveries.

The separation marked the end of NASA's human missions to the 19-year-old but beloved Hubble, whose spectacular images have helped broaden humankind's understanding of the universe as it peers ever deeper into the cosmos.

Tuesday's farewell lacked the drama of the mission's ambitious spacewalks, which were punctuated by stuck bolts, a power tool with a dead battery, an ill-fitting space suit boot and a damaged glove among other frustrations.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090519/sc_afp/usspaceastronomyhubble_20090519213747