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There was this, on Spaceflightnow. William Harwood.
"One last handshake with Mr. Hubble from me," Grunsfeld called at 2:27 p.m., removing a support post from the base of the telescope. "OK, I'm off the telescope."
"Copy, off the telescope," Mike Massimino said from the flight deck.
A few moments later, Grunsfeld apparently bumped the low-gain antenna.
"Low gain ant... hold, John, stop, stop, stop, stop, stop," Michael Good radioed from inside Atlantis as Grunsfeld floating near the base of the telescope.
"Thank you."
"OK. We liberated a small piece of something off the end of that."
"Yep, we did," someone said.
"You see where it went?"
"It's under the telescope, passing underneath," Good said. "OK, it's coming back down into the payload bay now."
"You see where?"
"Yeah, I can see it. It's right by the BAPS post. You can probably even get it."
"I don't think it's an issue," astronaut Michael Massimino said.
"Yep, I think we ought to get it," Grunsfeld disagreed.
"OK."
"We've got eyes on it," someone said.
"Let me go look at the antenna..." Grunsfeld said.
"It looks like a little piece of tape..."
"Ahhhh..." Grunsfeld groaned. "Is it a little piece of tape?"
"Yeah."
"I've got it," Feustel said.
"Oh no, I hope the antenna's OK," Grunsfeld said. "Oh, I feel terrible."
"You hit the low gain?" Massimino asked.
"I tapped the low gain antenna with my foot," Grunsfeld said. "Ahh...."
"There are two of them," Massimino said in an effort to cheer up his crewmate.
"No, Houston, do you have a picture of this?" Grunsfeld asked.
"Atlantis, Houston, we can't see you right now," Dan Burbank called from mission control.
"OK. I'm sick," Grunsfeld said. "It kind of knocked off the end cap."
John Grunsfeld installs a new piece of insulation onto Hubble.
Looks like there was a minor incident which was a non issue.
Great to see that all has gone well.
Well done to all involved.
Andrew Brown.
"One last handshake with Mr. Hubble from me," Grunsfeld called at 2:27 p.m., removing a support post from the base of the telescope. "OK, I'm off the telescope."
"Copy, off the telescope," Mike Massimino said from the flight deck.
A few moments later, Grunsfeld apparently bumped the low-gain antenna.
"Low gain ant... hold, John, stop, stop, stop, stop, stop," Michael Good radioed from inside Atlantis as Grunsfeld floating near the base of the telescope.
"Thank you."
"OK. We liberated a small piece of something off the end of that."
"Yep, we did," someone said.
"You see where it went?"
"It's under the telescope, passing underneath," Good said. "OK, it's coming back down into the payload bay now."
"You see where?"
"Yeah, I can see it. It's right by the BAPS post. You can probably even get it."
"I don't think it's an issue," astronaut Michael Massimino said.
"Yep, I think we ought to get it," Grunsfeld disagreed.
"OK."
"We've got eyes on it," someone said.
"Let me go look at the antenna..." Grunsfeld said.
"It looks like a little piece of tape..."
"Ahhhh..." Grunsfeld groaned. "Is it a little piece of tape?"
"Yeah."
"I've got it," Feustel said.
"Oh no, I hope the antenna's OK," Grunsfeld said. "Oh, I feel terrible."
"You hit the low gain?" Massimino asked.
"I tapped the low gain antenna with my foot," Grunsfeld said. "Ahh...."
"There are two of them," Massimino said in an effort to cheer up his crewmate.
"No, Houston, do you have a picture of this?" Grunsfeld asked.
"Atlantis, Houston, we can't see you right now," Dan Burbank called from mission control.
"OK. I'm sick," Grunsfeld said. "It kind of knocked off the end cap."
John Grunsfeld installs a new piece of insulation onto Hubble.
Looks like there was a minor incident which was a non issue.
Great to see that all has gone well.
Well done to all involved.
Andrew Brown.
Zipi":1ihkzpmm said:
Hi Zipi,
Hubble will be released tomorrow @ 08:53 HRS EDT.
Hopefully @ around 08:16 HRS EDT the Aperture Door will open on Hubble, otherwise an EVA may be required to open it.
Atlantis will remain in orbit until the de orbit burn on Friday 22nd May 2009 @ 10:35 HRS EDT, landing @ 11:41 HRS EDT.
Andrew Brown.
They are looking at adjusting the landing time 1 orbit earlier. This would give them a better chance of beating the sea breeze (and associated winds and showers) and also give them 3 landing attempts on Froiday. They are still working the numbers, so no firm times yet.
Thanks for posting the transcript. I'm sure in a way it will be bittersweet to see hubble back in orbit....it will be the last time it is seen by human eyes likley-I'm betting on a robot mission to deorbit it at the end of its life.
That was a transript of the antenna incident.
I was talking about their final words before they reentered the shuttle. Got a bit misty eyed....
I was talking about their final words before they reentered the shuttle. Got a bit misty eyed....
Found the transcript on spaceflight now:
Astronomer-astronaut John Grunsfeld, veteran of seven Hubble Space Telescope spacewalks and a self-described "Hubble hugger," inadvertently bumped into one of the observatory's two low-gain antennas toward the end of an otherwise smooth spacewalk today, knocking off a small end piece. Groaning with disbelief, Grunsfeld said, "oh, I feel terrible."
But engineers at the Goddard Space Flight Center quickly reported the antenna was still working normally. Grunsfeld and fellow spacewalker Andrew Feustel were asked to put a protective cover over the cone-shaped device for added insulation before ending today's spacewalk.
"Sorry, Mr. Hubble," Grunsfeld said as he headed back to Atlantis' airlock. "Have a good voyage."
"Consider it a goodbye kiss, John," someone said.
"Ah, thanks.
Dan Burbank in mission control tried to reassure Grunsfeld that he hadn't harmed the telescope.
"Just to let you know, we're feeling real good about this," he said. "We think that antenna's going to be just fine. Again, in receive mode it works just fine, expectation is it'll work great in transmit mode, too. There are a lot of happy folks down here on the ground, at Goddard, here at Johnson and all around the world. We just look back and kind of marvel at the last five days and all the amazing work, electronic brain surgery and I don't know how else you could put it that you guys accomplished on that telescope. Hubble's never had it better, it's never been more capable and it's just been a marvel to watch you guys do this.
"Thanks so much, Dan, I couldn't agree more," commander Scott Altman radioed from the shuttle's flight deck. "John, remember, take a moment here. This is it. The last spacewalk on Hubble and maybe our last visit to space. So enjoy this. You earned it."
"Thanks, I appreciate that. And Dan, thanks for those kind words. I hope we don't lose too many db (decibels). We really have achieved a lot out here. Thanks a lot, Scooter."
Grunsfeld and Feustel began repressurizing the shuttle Atlantis' airlock at 2:22 p.m. to close out a seven-hour two-minute spacewalk, the crew's fifth and final EVA to service and upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope, 19 years after the observatory's launch.
With today's installation of a second battery pack, a refurbished fine guidance sensor and three insulation panels - one more than originally planned - the astronauts completed the last remaining objectives of NASA's fifth and final Hubble service call.
Before repressurizing the airlock, Grunsfeld, one of the space telescope's most ardent - and eloquent - supporters, took a moment to mark a "tour de force of tools and human ingenuity" and to thank the men and women who made Atlantis' mission possible.
"As Arthur C. Clarke says, the only way of finding the limits on the possible is by going beyond them into the impossible," he said. "And on this mission, we tried some things that many people said were impossible - fixing STIS, repairing ACS, achieving all the content that we have in this mission. But we've achieved that and we wish Hubble the very best.
"It's really a sign of the great country that we live in that we're able to do things like this on a marvelous spaceship like the space shuttle Atlantis. And I'm convinced that if we can solve problems like repairing Hubble, getting to space, doing the servicing we do traveling 17,500 miles an hour around the Earth, that we can achieve other great things, like solving our energy problems and our climate problems, all things that are in the middle of NASA's prime and core valves.
"As Drew and I go into the airlock, I want to wish Hubble its own set of adventures, and with the new set of instruments we've installed, that it may unlock further mysteries of the universe."
Astronomer-astronaut John Grunsfeld, veteran of seven Hubble Space Telescope spacewalks and a self-described "Hubble hugger," inadvertently bumped into one of the observatory's two low-gain antennas toward the end of an otherwise smooth spacewalk today, knocking off a small end piece. Groaning with disbelief, Grunsfeld said, "oh, I feel terrible."
But engineers at the Goddard Space Flight Center quickly reported the antenna was still working normally. Grunsfeld and fellow spacewalker Andrew Feustel were asked to put a protective cover over the cone-shaped device for added insulation before ending today's spacewalk.
"Sorry, Mr. Hubble," Grunsfeld said as he headed back to Atlantis' airlock. "Have a good voyage."
"Consider it a goodbye kiss, John," someone said.
"Ah, thanks.
Dan Burbank in mission control tried to reassure Grunsfeld that he hadn't harmed the telescope.
"Just to let you know, we're feeling real good about this," he said. "We think that antenna's going to be just fine. Again, in receive mode it works just fine, expectation is it'll work great in transmit mode, too. There are a lot of happy folks down here on the ground, at Goddard, here at Johnson and all around the world. We just look back and kind of marvel at the last five days and all the amazing work, electronic brain surgery and I don't know how else you could put it that you guys accomplished on that telescope. Hubble's never had it better, it's never been more capable and it's just been a marvel to watch you guys do this.
"Thanks so much, Dan, I couldn't agree more," commander Scott Altman radioed from the shuttle's flight deck. "John, remember, take a moment here. This is it. The last spacewalk on Hubble and maybe our last visit to space. So enjoy this. You earned it."
"Thanks, I appreciate that. And Dan, thanks for those kind words. I hope we don't lose too many db (decibels). We really have achieved a lot out here. Thanks a lot, Scooter."
Grunsfeld and Feustel began repressurizing the shuttle Atlantis' airlock at 2:22 p.m. to close out a seven-hour two-minute spacewalk, the crew's fifth and final EVA to service and upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope, 19 years after the observatory's launch.
With today's installation of a second battery pack, a refurbished fine guidance sensor and three insulation panels - one more than originally planned - the astronauts completed the last remaining objectives of NASA's fifth and final Hubble service call.
Before repressurizing the airlock, Grunsfeld, one of the space telescope's most ardent - and eloquent - supporters, took a moment to mark a "tour de force of tools and human ingenuity" and to thank the men and women who made Atlantis' mission possible.
"As Arthur C. Clarke says, the only way of finding the limits on the possible is by going beyond them into the impossible," he said. "And on this mission, we tried some things that many people said were impossible - fixing STIS, repairing ACS, achieving all the content that we have in this mission. But we've achieved that and we wish Hubble the very best.
"It's really a sign of the great country that we live in that we're able to do things like this on a marvelous spaceship like the space shuttle Atlantis. And I'm convinced that if we can solve problems like repairing Hubble, getting to space, doing the servicing we do traveling 17,500 miles an hour around the Earth, that we can achieve other great things, like solving our energy problems and our climate problems, all things that are in the middle of NASA's prime and core valves.
"As Drew and I go into the airlock, I want to wish Hubble its own set of adventures, and with the new set of instruments we've installed, that it may unlock further mysteries of the universe."
"...Hubble will be released tomorrow @ 08:53 HRS EDT.
Hopefully @ around 08:16 HRS EDT the Aperture Door will open on Hubble, otherwise an EVA may be required to open it....."
They open the end cap before firing the jets to ease away?
A possible problem with the planned landing? A storm is developing, and expected to cross Florida and become tropical in nature over the Gulf of Mexico. It is way too early to know timing and strength, but it bears watching.
Hopefully @ around 08:16 HRS EDT the Aperture Door will open on Hubble, otherwise an EVA may be required to open it....."
They open the end cap before firing the jets to ease away?
A possible problem with the planned landing? A storm is developing, and expected to cross Florida and become tropical in nature over the Gulf of Mexico. It is way too early to know timing and strength, but it bears watching.
Just a heads up, the weather looks AWFUL for Friday at KSC, with a possible subtropical system. 
MeteorWayne":10rqg009 said:Just a heads up, the weather looks AWFUL for Friday at KSC, with a possible subtropical system.
How about other landing sites?
Any ideas how long they can stay at orbit and wait for the weather to improve?
If weather is bad at all "tested/proven" sites, can they land to somewhere else? They probably can do the landing pretty much what ever long enough airport, but how critical the shuttle specific tools and maintenance thingys are for the next flight point of view?
Maybe I missed it, and if I did and this is a redundant question, I appologize:
Did all the thermal blankets get installed?
VR
RS327
Did all the thermal blankets get installed?
VR
RS327
The first landing attempt at KSC is just after 10 AM EDT Friday AM.
In consideration of the weather, I'm sure they will activate Edwards and Northrup on the west coast; haven't had a chance to look at their weather condistions yet.
Few airports have a long enough runway, and landing anywhere but at these 3 sites would add many months to the turn around time for Atlantis.
I'm sure they will talk more about this in the next day if the weather in Florida continues to look bad.
Orbit adjustment burn, changing the orbit from 350 x 343 miles to 350 x 184 miles coming up at the top of the hour. They will remain in this orbit until the deorbit burn....
In consideration of the weather, I'm sure they will activate Edwards and Northrup on the west coast; haven't had a chance to look at their weather condistions yet.
Few airports have a long enough runway, and landing anywhere but at these 3 sites would add many months to the turn around time for Atlantis.
I'm sure they will talk more about this in the next day if the weather in Florida continues to look bad.
Orbit adjustment burn, changing the orbit from 350 x 343 miles to 350 x 184 miles coming up at the top of the hour. They will remain in this orbit until the deorbit burn....
Too bad Shuttle Guy is no longer on the program. Maybe they will re-activate him for one more landing.
It's my turn to buy.
It's my turn to buy.
There have been several discussions about this on nasaspaceflight.com (for example: here)decepticon":27lxumhe said:
As I understand it, the major factor affecting degradation of Hubble's orbit is solar activity (because it puffs up Earth's atmosphere?). Solar activity has recently been very low and predictions are for it to continue that way so Hubble's orbit should be OK up to 2020 without a boost. Hubble's systems are not expected to last beyond that time anyway.
That is just incredible.Testing":1cuv2h2a said:
When you think about all of the shuttle missions in the past, the missions to Hubble, imho, are the most amazing.
The things they pull off are just... honestly, breath-taking.
VR
RS327
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