NASA Mission to Give Hubble New Life

SHARE Atlantis mission STS 125 is the last chance to save the Hubble Space Telescope -- and it's a mission that nearly didn't happen at all.
On Monday, NASA will visit the Hubble space telescope for the fifth and final time.
(NASA, via AP Photo)
More PhotosAstronauts and scientists had to fight to restore the mission, which launches today.
Shaken by the Columbia disaster in 2003, NASA actually cancelled the planned fifth Hubble repair mission, as they thought it was much too dangerous because there was no easy way to rescue the crew if something damaged the space shuttle.
"The bulk of the people said this is crazy," astronomer Sandra Faber said. "It is not that much risky. Nobody in my community really bought the risk argument. And to compound the issue was the fact that at that time there were 27 flights scheduled to finish the space station, which astronomers can't see that much use for. The astronauts are chomping at the bit to go fix Hubble because they love it."
Astronauts like John Grunsfeld say Hubble's potential is infinite.
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Grunsfeld will be making his fifth spaceflight on this mission, and this is his third trip to Hubble.

The Risks Facing Atlantis Shuttle
But when NASA talks about the risks facing the astronauts, they don't just mean the possibilty of debris hitting the orbiter during launch, which was what happened to Columbia. They also mean the threat of micro-meteorites hitting the orbiter while the astronauts are fixing Hubble.
Hubble orbits about 350 miles above Earth, in an area with a higher density of debris. Earlier this year two satellites collided over Siberia, which has increased the risk even more, as junk from that collision drifts lower.
As soon as Atlantis fixes Hubble, and releases it back into orbit, it will immediately maneuver to a lower altitude to reduce chances of getting hit by space junk.