">Forum Views ()
">Forum Replies ()
Read more with google mobile :
US astronauts, on third spacewalk, repair Hubble
Yahoo!
My Yahoo!
Mail
Yahoo! Search
Search:
Sign InNew User? Sign Up
News Home -
Help
Navigation
Primary Navigation
Home
Singapore
Asia Pacific
World
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Technology
Top Stories
Most Popular
Secondary Navigation
Search
Search:
US astronauts, on third spacewalk, repair Hubble
AFP - Sunday, May 17
HOUSTON, Texas (AFP) - - Two US astronauts ventured into open space for a third time Saturday to repair the ailing Hubble Space Telescope and equip the 19-year-old observatory with a new key instrument.
ADVERTISEMENT
Astronauts John Grunsfeld and Drew Feustel were working on decking out Hubble with a second new science instrument, the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph, and repairing another, the Advanced Camera for Surveys.
The spectrograph was developed to study the grand scale structure of the universe to explain how galaxies formed and clustered. It will also chart how the chemical elements, especially those necessary for life, emerged and changed in abundance over time.
The advanced camera increased Hubble's field of view and observing efficiency 10-fold when it was installed in 2002.
However, an internal electrical short five years later shut down the imager's ability to observe distant galaxies. The spacewalkers hope to resurrect the camera by replacing an internal electronics box and attaching a new power supply.
Saturday's spacewalk got under way at 1335 GMT. Grunsfeld and Feustel floated out hoping to be able to extend Hubble's observations for at least five years.
The latest in a series of five daily spacewalks by the Atlantis astronauts was expected to last 6 1/2 (six-and-a-half) hours.
As their first task on Saturday, Grunsfeld and Feustel will remove a piece of equipment installed in the telescope in 1993 to correct an optical flaw. The flaw, which nearly derailed the space telescope, was discovered in the months after the observatory's launching three years earlier.
They will replace the no longer needed optical box with the new Cosmic Origins Spectrograph, an instrument designed to study the large scale structure of the universe, the largely unseen forces that govern the distribution and grouping of star systems. The new spectrograph is also equipped to chart the chemical evolution of the universe and in particular the stellar production of carbon and the other elements necessary for life.
Next the spacewalkers will attempt to replace four circuit boards within the telescope's Advanced Camera for Surveys. The multi-faceted camera was installed during a 2002 overhaul by shuttle astronauts. Two years ago, an electrical short shut down most of the instrument's observing powers. The setback cut short a promising future unraveling the mysteries of dark matter and dark energy.
During a spacewalk Friday, astronauts Mike Massimino and Mike Good successfully installed new gyroscopes and new batteries on the revolutionary stargazer.
During the first of the mission's five daily spacewalks on Thursday, two other astronauts also equipped Hubble with a powerful new camera and science computer, the mission's second and third highest priorities.
The seven Atlantis astronauts rendezvoused with Hubble on Wednesday and hoisted it aboard the shuttle for a final overhaul.
Although NASA has no plans for a future shuttle visit to Hubble, a new docking device also installed on the first spacewalk would allow a robotic spacecraft with a propulsion module to latch onto the observatory.
When Hubble is no longer able to conduct observations, NASA plans to steer the space telescope into the Pacific Ocean rather than allowing it to plunge back to Earth uncontrolled, potentially endangering a populated area.
Email Story
IM Story
Printable View
Blog This
Sign in to recommend this article »
0 users recommend
Enlarge Photo
Factfile with photo on the Hubble telescope and NASA's latest servicing mission. Two US astronauts ventured into open space for a third time Saturday to repair the ailing telescope and equip the 19-year-old observatory with a new key instrument.
Most Popular – Top Stories
Viewed
Popular cereal is a drug, US food watchdog says
Coral Triangle could die by century's end: WWF
British store admits it boobed in bra row
Australian zoo evacuated after orangutan escape
EU fines Intel record 1.06 billion euros
View Complete List »
Search:
Home
Singapore
Asia Pacific
World
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Technology
Top Stories
Most Popular
Copyright © 2009 Yahoo! Southeast Asia Pte Ltd. (Co. Reg. No. 199700735D). All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy
- Terms of Service
- Community
- Intellectual Property Rights Policy
- Help
Other News on Sunday, 17 May 2009 Suspected drug gang frees 59 from Mexico prison
| International
|
Kuwaiti polls close but voters doubt crisis will end
| International
|
Sudan accuses Chad of third air strike
| International
|
Hospital Where 'Octomom' Gave Birth Fined $250,000
Burglars Caught On Surveillance Video Trying To Break Into Lindsay Lohan's Home
Networks Prepare to Unveil Schedules
Coldplay Offer New Live Album As Free Download
Rob Lowe's Nannygate Officially Over, Settles Lawsuit With Second Nanny
Ticketmaster Admits To Overselling Bruce Spingsteen's Washington Show
Girls Aloud Singer Cheryl Cole's Brother Spared From Jail For Attacking A Man
Actor Vinnie Jones On Trial For Bar Brawl
Producer Sues Ryan O'Neal Over Farrah Fawcett's TV Documentary
Gerard Butler Charged With Hitting A Paparazzo
Suspected drug gang frees 53 from Mexico prison
| International
|
South Korea tries recharging road to power vehicles
| Technology
|
Pamuk may face new trial for Armenia remarks
| Entertainment
|
Wheel Falls Off Plane As It Lands In Buffalo
40 Children Stun Gunned While Vistiting Florida Prisons
Inmate Gets 60 More Years After Caught With Cell Phone
DA Pest Control To Make Fire Ants Headless Using Flies
"Twilight" Star Says Vampire-Crazed Fans Are "Gross"
Medvedev stresses concern on NATO moves near Russia
Second British MP suspended over expense claims
Moscow police arrest 40 at Eurovision gay protest
Russia warns of clampdown on Eurovision gay protest
Cool Britannia? Brits are angriest Europeans: poll
Germany reports record quarterly slump
Swine flu cases soar again as more countries hit
Japan's opposition party elects new chief
Troops take last Tiger coastline: SLanka military
Congress sweeps to victory in India election
Eight Japan school students positive for swine flu
Sri Lanka president declares Tamil Tigers 'defeated'
NKorea scraps contracts with SKorean firms in joint zone
Myanmar under pressure to free Aung San Suu Kyi
Yudhoyono names Indonesian bank chief for VP
China to focus on energy efficiency post-Kyoto: state media
New Web tool WolframAlpha launches test run
Tucson Citizen to print final edition Saturday
Facebook users hooked in new 'phishing' scam
US has new Mideast peace plan: Jordan king
Egypt opens Gaza border
Commerzbank shareholders approve government stake
EBRD seeks to guide ex-Soviet bloc to economic recovery
Rocket hits Afghan mosque, five killed: police
US astronauts, on third spacewalk, repair Hubble
Suspected US drone in Pakistan kills militants
Job losses as GM, Chrysler close dealerships
GM, union at odds as bankruptcy deadline looms
Three NATO soldiers killed in Afghanistan
Swine flu set to spread, reported cases surge: WHO
Pope ends Holy Land trip with call for two-state solution
US insurer Ameriprise rejects Treasury bailout offer
GM aims to shrink dealer network by 40 percent
Recession storm sinks Europe
US consumer prices flat in April
CIA denies it deceived Congress on interrogations
Hubble gets new gyroscopes in space fix-it struggle
Obama retains Bush-era military tribunals
World needs fair and just financial system: China's Wu
Philippines failed to scrap loss-making firms: ADB
Pakistani cenbank buys 50.03 bln rupees of bills
India's Jet Airways says may cut jobs to trim losses
India's Bharti Airtel sees 100-million mobile subscribers
Microsoft teams with Chinese city to fight piracy
Mitsubishi UFJ cancels plan to buy Citigroup unit
IMF to approve $840 mln for Pakistan in June-govt official
Australian Tsiolkas wins Commonwealth writers prize
Glam icons Bellucci, Marceau morph in weird fantasy thriller
Dubai's 7-star hotel escapes crisis discounting
Ang Lee brings 'peace and love' to Cannes
Pain, progress on global day against homophobia
Beauty plays the beast in lingerie football
India's 1st gay magazine relaunches after 7 years
Guggenheim opens major Frank Lloyd Wright exhibit
Scorsese brings classic treat for Cannes afficionados
Sri Lanka's long war in bloody final climax
| International
|
Moscow police arrest 40 at Eurovision gay protest
India's Congress to pick allies after election win
| International
|
Myanmar's Suu Kyi defiant ahead of trial: lawyer
| International
|
Pakistani army closes in on Taliban stronghold in Swat
| International
|
China keeps buying US bonds despite concerns
Asian carriers brace for more rough weather
Nureyev myth celebrated with exhibition
Saudi women pioneers brave clerics with ball games
African-American director takes Harlem to Cannes
'Looking for Eric': the return of Cantona as actor
Norway sweeps Eurovision Song Contest
Chinese tourists avoiding France because of Sarkozy: official
Croatia's bar owners protest anti-smoking law
Obama taps Republican governor as China envoy
US astronauts equip Hubble on third spacewalk
US uptick doesn't mean crisis is over: top US economist
Pakistan urges civilians to flee from Swat
| International
|
Outnumbered U.S. troops defend Afghan frontier
| International
|
Kuwait women enter parliament, deadlock may not end
| International
|
Militants take key Somali town, warlord defects
| International
|
First Darfur rebel to appear before Hague court: ICC
| International
|
Thousands of Turks march in anti-government protest
| International
|
Myanmar's Suu Kyi defiant ahead of trial: lawyer
| International
|
Damaged EU-Russia ties bode ill for summit
| International
|
Obama to visit Catholic university
Astronauts to take fourth walk to repair Hubble
Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers admit defeat
Japan confirms 32 new swine flu cases, total at 44
Sri Lankan rebels say they have put down arms
Japan officials promote hip home
Intense battles as Pakistan troops move on Taliban
Australian PM defends ministers' travel bill
Taiwan opposition protests Ma's China policies
Myanmar frees Aung San Suu Kyi doctor: family
Japan's new opposition chief now eyes PM's job
Study finds tall people at top of wages ladder
China to push investment in Taiwan: report
SKorean consortium wins airport deal in Britain
Recovery talk runs on despite rearview recession
China electricity use down in April: report
South Korea April import prices fall, first in 2 yrs
Rock star, fisherman bid for Lebanon election race
Ben Stiller stars at Smithsonian in Museum sequel
| Entertainment
|
US Pokemon lovers to challenge Europe and Japan
Johnny Hallyday seeks Vengeance in Cannes
| Entertainment
|
Crisis bad news for Russia's shrinking population
Africans tell their own stories at NY film festival
| Entertainment
|
Splat, you're dead: German paintballers fight back
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
AMD to Start Production of piledriver
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights