Hubble Servicing Mission 4 Blog

I love the views from the helmet cams!

View from SM4 astronaut's "helmet cam"

One of my favorite SM4 images so far of HST reflecting the Earth below it.

This image from orbit shows the Earth reflected on the Hubble Space Telescope.

The astronauts are just over four hours into the first EVA (spacewalk). WFPC2 has been removed and the new WFC3 has been installed. View WFPC2’s last “pretty picture”.

Grunsfeld and Feustel are replacing the main Hubble computer while they fly over a dark Madagascar, headed for an orbital sunrise in less than a half an hour.

Some pictures from Goddard.

The sign outside of Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland (USA)

I wish my other ride was a Shuttle; currently it's the Munich U-Bahn trains.

Astronauts John Grunsfeld and Andrew Feustel are preparing for the first EVA (Extra-vehicular activity), better known as a spacewalk. First on today’s agenda is the installation of the new WFC3 camera in the slot currently occupied by WFPC2.

SM4 timeline

The ESA HST team discussed the day’s events and the events to come during the overnight shift. Before they left, Michael and Udo wanted to wait to see that the SADE (Solar Array Drive Electronics) had been turned back on (as planned). At that time, they were able to see whether the solar panel alignment had been affected by the capture.

Grappling (capture) worked, HST is in Shuttle’s payload bay and the HST capture had little impact on the alignment, so Michael and Udo left very happy. They are off to rest up for their next shift.

Lothar and Manfred are on duty!

The ESA HST team at Goddard (from left to right): Michael Eiden, Lothar Gerlach, Manfred Schmid and Udo Rapp.

Live from the control room @ Goddard:

The necessary preparations on Hubble for capture and subsequent moving of the telescope into Atlantis’ payload bay have also been successfully executed. The HST telescope door has been closed to avoid contamination of the telescope optics and the two high gain antennas have been folded back to the telescope body.

ESA contribution:

The ESA HST team is in charge of the drive motors that operate Hubble’s solar “wings,” or arrays. The telescope’s lifeblood, the wings are its power source. They have been closely monitoring solar array position commands and ensuring that the alignment is perfect for capture.

All commands have been successfully executed and the SADM (solar arrive drive mechanism) motors positioned the wings properly into the capture, or grappling, configuration. For grappling, the solar array drive electronics will be switched off as precaution to avoid unintentional operation of the solar array motors.

Part of the ESA HST team, Michael Eiden (left) and Udo Rapp man their consoles at Goddard Space Flight Center during SM4.

The HST ESA team has started its full 24 hours engineering support provision to NASA with two shifts of 12 hours each: the “orbit shift” (aligned with the astronauts/EVA crew active time) with Michael Eiden and Udo Rapp and the “planning shift” (aligned with the functional checks and possible re-planning efforts during the EVA crew sleep time) composed of Lothar Gerlach and Manfred Schmid.

The “planning shift” crew completed their first 12 hours and they are now sleeping. Eiden and Rapp are presently in the “orbit shift” at the STOCC (Space Telescope Operations Control Center) console, which has started at 03:00 hours in the middle of the night. Planning shift handover is scheduled for 15:00 this afternoon.

The ESA contingent is following the approach of the orbiter Atlantis to the HST live on overhead screens.

We are “go” for rendezvous with the HST!

I’ve arrived at Goddard Space Flight Center and joined the ESA engineers in their control room. We are anxiously awaiting Altantis’ interception of Hubble.  In fact, we just saw the Shuttle’s first view of Hubble on NASA TV.

This is Atlantis' first glimpse of Hubble, just before capture.

Capture is in about ten minutes!

Stay tuned!

Today was mainly a travel day for me. I’ve arrived in Greenbelt, Maryland to meet up with the European team doing mission support at Goddard Space Flight Center. Overhead, SM4 continues. The crew conducted a planned checkout of the shuttle heat shielding today.  Some minor damage was detected but it is not expected to be a concern.  Experts will continue to analyse images showing the damage. Tomorrow is the big day – the rendezvous with Hubble!

My friend and colleague Ray Villard, News Chief at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, took this amazing image of Atlantis taking flight. I love the reflection of the rocket fire on the water.

Space Shuttle Atlantis heads for Hubble

Wow!!! What an incredible experience! I was atop a media tower next to the press site at Kennedy Space Center. With so many people here, I was struck by the quiet and calm just before liftoff. Everyone had fingers crossed waiting to see the glorious site of the Shuttle lifting off. As the countdown neared zero, smoke began to emanate from the launch pad. We all watched in awe as Atlantis rose into a mostly clear Florida sky. As it got higher, the sound was astounding and the wooden platform on which we stood shook. We watched until we could no longer see the Shuttle, only its contrail.

Space Shuttle Atlantis lifts off

View from above the Kennedy Space Center press site after the launch of the SM4 mission to Hubble