From: NASANews@hq.nasa.gov
Date: Tue, 4 Feb 1997 13:52:29 -0500 (EST)
Fwd Date: Tue, 04 Feb 1997 20:23:32 -0500
Subject: STS-82 Set for Second Hubble Servicing Mission
Debbie Rahn/Jennifer McCarter
Headquarters, Washington, DC January 31, 1997
(Phone: 202/358-1778)
RELEASE: 97-18
STS-82 SET FOR SECOND HUBBLE TELESCOPE SERVICING MISSION
Astronauts on the Space Shuttle Discovery STS-82 mission
will significantly upgrade the scientific capabilities of NASA's
Hubble Space Telescope (HST) during the ten-day servicing mission
by installing two state-of-the-art instruments. They also will
perform maintenance to keep HST functioning smoothly until the
next scheduled servicing mission in 1999. STS-82, scheduled to
launch Feb. 11, 1997, is the second servicing mission to HST since
its deployment in April 1990.
The seven-member crew will conduct at least four spacewalks
(also called Extravehicular Activities or EVAs) to remove two
older instruments and install two new astronomy instruments, as
well as other servicing tasks. The two older instruments being
replaced are the Goddard High Resolution Spectrometer and the
Faint Object Spectrograph. Replacing these instruments are the
Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) and the Near Infrared
Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS). HST's current
complement of science instruments includes two cameras, two
spectrographs, and fine guidance sensors.
In addition to installing the new instruments, astronauts
will replace other existing hardware with upgrades and spares.
Hubble will get a refurbished Fine Guidance Sensor, an optical
device that is used on HST to provide pointing information for the
spacecraft and is used as a scientific instrument for astrometric
science. The Solid State Recorder (SSR) will replace one of HST's
current reel-to-reel tape recorders. The SSR provides much more
flexibility than a reel-to-reel recorder and can store ten times
more data.
One of Hubble's four Reaction Wheel Assemblies (RWA) will
be replaced with a refurbished spare. The RWA is part of Hubble's
Pointing Control Subsystem. The RWAs use spin momentum to move
the telescope into position. The wheels also maintain the
spacecraft in a stable position. The wheel axes are oriented so
that the telescope can provide science with only three wheels
operating, if required.
The STS-82 crew will be commanded by Ken Bowersox, who will
be making his fourth Shuttle flight. The pilot is Scott Horowitz,
who will be making his second flight. There are five mission
specialists assigned to this flight. Joe Tanner, Mission
Specialist-1, is making his second flight. Mission Specialist-2,
Steve Hawley, is making his fourth flight. Greg Harbaugh, Mission
Specialist-3, is making his fourth flight. Mark Lee, Mission
Specialist-4, is making his fourth flight. Mission Specialist-5,
Steve Smith, is making his second flight. The crew members who
will conduct the planned EVAs are Mark Lee, Greg Harbaugh, Steve
Smith and Joe Tanner.
Training for this mission began nearly two years ago.
Extensive training for the EVAs was conducted at the Johnson Space
Center in Houston, TX, in the 25-foot deep Weightless Environment
Training Facility; at the Marshall Space Flight Center in
Huntsville, AL, in the 40-foot deep Neutral Buoyancy Simulator;
and at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD, in a
12,500 square-foot cleanroom.
During the training, the astronauts practiced every detail
of every task they will have to perform during the four
spacewalks. They also rehearsed using more than 150 specialized
tools and crew aids developed specifically for this mission,
ranging from a simple bag for carrying some of the smaller tools
to sophisticated, battery-operated power tools. The hand-operated
devices allow astronauts to more efficiently perform intricate,
labor-intensive tasks. Tools will allow access to equipment bays
on both HST and the Shuttle and will help remove and install
scientific instruments and other components.
Discovery is targeted for an early morning launch on Feb.
11 from NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Launch Complex 39-A at
3:56 a.m. EST. The launch window is 61 minutes. With an on-time
launch on Feb. 11 and a nominal 10-day mission, Discovery will
land back at KSC on Feb. 21 at about 2:43 a.m. EST.
STS-82 will be the 22nd Flight of Discovery and the 82nd
mission flown since the start of the Space Shuttle program in
April 1981.
New Astronomy Instruments
The HST was designed to allow new instruments to be easily
installed as old ones become obsolete. This was demonstrated
during the first servicing mission in December 1993, when, during
an 11-day mission that included a record five EVAs, astronauts
successfully installed a new camera which had its corrective
optics built right in, and a special instrument, called the COSTAR
(Corrective Optics Space Telescope Axial Replacement) that would
properly refocus light from the flawed main mirror to the other
instruments.
The new instruments installed during this mission will
again dramatically expand Hubble's scientific capabilities. The
Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) provides unique and
powerful spectroscopic capabilities for the HST. A spectrograph
separates the light gathered by the telescope into its spectral
components so that the composition, temperature, motion, and other
chemical and physical properties of astronomical objects can be analyzed.
STIS's two-dimensional detectors allow the instrument to
gather 30 times more spectral data and 500 times more spatial data
than existing spectrographs on Hubble which look at one place at a
time. One of the greatest advantages to using STIS is in the
study of supermassive black holes.
STIS will search for massive black holes by studying the
star and gas dynamics around galactic centers. It also will
measure the distribution of matter in the universe by studying
quasar absorption lines, use its high sensitivity and spatial
resolution to study star formation in distant galaxies, and
perform spectroscopic mapping of solar system objects.
The Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer
(NICMOS) promises to gain valuable new information on the dusty
centers of galaxies and the formation of stars and planets.
NICMOS consists of three cameras. It will provide the capability
for infrared imaging and spectroscopic observations of
astronomical targets.
NICMOS will give astronomers their first clear view of the
universe at near-infrared wavelengths between 0.8 and 2.5
micrometers -- longer wavelengths than the human eye can see. The
expansion of the universe shifts the light from very distant
objects toward longer red and infrared wavelengths.
NICMOS's near infrared capabilities will provide views of
objects too distant for research by current Hubble optical and
ultraviolet instruments. NICMOS's detectors perform more
efficiently than previous infrared detectors.
Technological Advances
Besides rapidly advancing scientific understanding of the
universe, HST is making direct contributions to the health,
safety, and quality of people's lives through a variety of
technological spinoffs.
For instance, a new, non-surgical breast biopsy technique
using a device originally developed for HST's Imaging Spectrograph
(STIS) is now saving women pain, scarring, radiation exposure,
time and money. This technique, called stereotactic automated
large-core needle biopsy, enables a doctor to precisely locate a
suspicious lump and use a needle instead of surgery to remove
tissue for study. This precise process is possible because of a
key improvement in digital imaging technology known as a Charge
Coupled Device or CCD.
Looking Toward the Future
The Hubble Space Telescope was designed to operate in space
for 15 years. Since its deployment in 1990, HST has
revolutionized astronomers' vision of the universe more than any
prior telescopes. Many new details about planets, stars and
galaxies have been revealed in the short span of six years.
Hubble provided dramatic and detailed views of comet fragments
smashing into Jupiter; clues about the existence of black holes in
the core of galaxies; and has made significant progress in
determining the age and size of the universe. With astronauts
geared to embark on the second mission to service the telescope,
scientists are looking forward to even greater capabilities to
look deeper into the universe.
Two more servicing missions are planned for 1999 and 2002
to keep the telescope functioning efficiently and to improve its
scientific capability. Among the tasks for the 1999 mission are
installation of the Advanced Camera, new solar arrays, and the
telescope will be reboosted into a higher orbit. In 2002, plans
call for installation of an as-yet undefined advanced scientific
instrument as well as maintenance to keep HST functioning until at
least 2005.
The HST is a joint project between NASA and the European
Space Agency.
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