Hubble servicing mission delayed
Posted: Fri, May 2, 2008, 7:35 AM ET (1135 GMT)
A shuttle mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope has been delayed at least four weeks because of production delays with the shuttle's external tank, NASA officials said Thursday. Shuttle Atlantis was scheduled to launch on August 28 on the long-awaited STS-125 mission to service Hubble, but that mission will now be pushed back, most likely to early October. That and later missions are being delayed four to five weeks because of changes in the production of the shuttle's external tanks to fully incorporate design modifications made after the Columbia accident. A complicating factor is that since STS-125 will not be going to the ISS, there is no option for the shuttle to stay there as a "safe haven" should a problem prevent the orbiter from returning as planned, requiring a second shuttle be ready to launch on a rescue mission. The delays also mean that NASA will perform five missions in 2008, instead of the planned six, but officials said there was still plenty of room in the schedule to complete all the remaining shuttle missions before the end of 2010.
A shuttle mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope has been delayed at least four weeks because of production delays with the shuttle's external tank, NASA officials said Thursday. Shuttle Atlantis was scheduled to launch on August 28 on the long-awaited STS-125 mission to service Hubble, but that mission will now be pushed back, most likely to early October. That and later missions are being delayed four to five weeks because of changes in the production of the shuttle's external tanks to fully incorporate design modifications made after the Columbia accident. A complicating factor is that since STS-125 will not be going to the ISS, there is no option for the shuttle to stay there as a "safe haven" should a problem prevent the orbiter from returning as planned, requiring a second shuttle be ready to launch on a rescue mission. The delays also mean that NASA will perform five missions in 2008, instead of the planned six, but officials said there was still plenty of room in the schedule to complete all the remaining shuttle missions before the end of 2010.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Sunday, January 25
How Elon Musk’s Starlink is beating Iran’s internet blackout
The Daily Telegraph — 7:19 am ET (1219 GMT) Falcon 9 Rocket Launch Scheduled Sunday Morning from Vandenberg
KEYT-TV Santa Barbara, CA — 7:18 am ET (1218 GMT) SpaceX to launch Starlink mission from Vandenberg Sunday morning
Lompoc Record — 7:18 am ET (1218 GMT) SpaceX Launch Scheduled for Sunday Morning from Vandenberg SFB
Santa Barbara (CA) Edhat — 7:17 am ET (1217 GMT) Space Futures Within Range: How Aerospace Supports U.S. Spaceport Modernization
Aerospace Corporation — 7:15 am ET (1215 GMT) |
