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Mission background

• 157th NASA manned space flight
• 126th shuttle mission since STS-1
  STS-1
  STS-1 was the first orbital flight of NASA's Space Shuttle program. Space Shuttle Columbia launched on 12 April 1981, and returned to Earth on 14 April, having orbited the Earth 37 times during the 54.5-hour mission. It was the first American manned space flight since the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project...
  
  
• 30th flight of Atlantis
• 53rd shuttle landing at Edwards Air Force Base
  Edwards Air Force Base
  Edwards Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located on the border of Kern County, Los Angeles County, and San Bernardino County, California, in the Antelope Valley. It is southwest of the central business district of North Edwards, California and due east of Rosamond.It is named in...
  
  
• 101st post-Challenger
  Space Shuttle Challenger
  Space Shuttle Challenger was NASA's second Space Shuttle orbiter to be put into service, Columbia having been the first. The shuttle was built by Rockwell International's Space Transportation Systems Division in Downey, California...
  
  mission
• 13th post-Columbia
  Space Shuttle Columbia
  Space Shuttle Columbia was the first spaceworthy Space Shuttle in NASA's orbital fleet. First launched on the STS-1 mission, the first of the Space Shuttle program, it completed 27 missions before being destroyed during re-entry on February 1, 2003 near the end of its 28th, STS-107. All seven crew...
  
  mission

Shuttle processing

Launch delays

11 May (Flight day 1, launch)

12 May (Flight day 2)

In addition to the survey of the orbiter's heat shield, the crew gathered and inspected the EVA tools and spacesuits that would be used for the mission's spacewalks and prepared the Flight Support System (FSS) for berthing with Hubble on flight day three.

13 May (Flight day 3)

Following the crew's post-sleep activities, they went to work performing the rendezvous operations that included burning the orbiter's engines to refine the approach to the Hubble telescope. Following some delays due to communications issues, Altman and Johnson ("Ray-J") guided the orbiter within fifty feet of the telescope. McArthur successfully grappled Hubble at 17:14 UTC, and at 18:12 the telescope was safely berthed in the payload bay of Atlantis. Later in the day, Grunsfeld and Feustel (Drew), along with Good ("Bueno") and Massimino ("Mass") worked on preparing for the next day's spacewalk, gathering tools and checking out the suits and equipment that would be used during the EVA.

At the Mission Management Team (MMT) briefing, MMT Chairman LeRoy Cain

LeRoy E. Cain

Leroy E. Cain is a NASA engineer. Formerly a flight director, he became the manager of Space Shuttle Launch Integration at Kennedy Space Center in November 2005....

 reported that the damage assessment team had cleared all of the orbiter's TPS tiles and blankets, and were expected to clear the RCC portion of the orbiter by flight day four. He stated that no focused inspection would be required. Cain also noted that a debris event was recorded on the orbiter's wing leading edge sensors, but it was far below the force that would indicate a problem, and would not impact the mission. The late inspection that is routinely performed prior to re-entry would give any additional information, but Cain stated "We're not concerned that it's done any kind of damage that would be any concern to us, certainly not critical damage."

During the Mission Status briefing, Lead Flight Director Tony Ceccacci noted that during the camera survey of the equipment in the payload bay, the team noticed some fine particulate matter around the box containing the Wide Field Camera 3 and asked the crew to take additional images using a higher resolution camera for the ground teams to assess. Cain later confirmed that the dust was not present prior to launch, and was most likely particulate shaken loose from the thick insulation blankets inside the payload bay during launch. The team advised the crew to avoid the particulate as much as possible during the spacewalks, and use caution when working around the container to avoid the debris, but it was not a significant concern.

14 May (Flight day 4)

Following the crew's wake up, they set to work preparing for the mission's first spacewalk. Grunsfeld and Feustel suited up with the assistance of their EVA counterparts, Massimino and Good, and the spacewalk officially began when the two switched their suits to battery power at 12:52 UTC. At the start of the spacewalk, Feustel provided managers on the ground with a visual inspection report on the particulate matter seen earlier around the WFC3 box, reporting to the ground team that "I don't really see any of those particles...It's almost imperceivable. I can see some few particles on the front of the W-SIPE, little, whitish, grey looking, real small. It's low density, too." After getting their tools and equipment for the EVA set up, Grunsfeld and Feustel removed the old Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2

Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2

The Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 is a baby grand piano sized camera built by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and formerly installed on the Hubble Space Telescope. It was installed by servicing mission 1 in 1993, replacing the telescope's original Wide Field and Planetary Camera...

, which was installed in 1993 during the telescope's first servicing mission, and replaced it with the new Wide Field Camera 3

Wide Field Camera 3

The Wide Field Camera 3 is the Hubble Space Telescope's last and most technologically advanced instrument to take images in the visible spectrum...

 (WFC3). Feustel initially had trouble removing the bolts from the old camera, which after over fifteen years in space required more torque

Torque

Torque, moment or moment of force , is the tendency of a force to rotate an object about an axis, fulcrum, or pivot. Just as a force is a push or a pull, a torque can be thought of as a twist....

 to remove than expected. After multiple attempts, managers on the ground decided to have Grunsfeld get a contingency torque limiter from the airlock, which would allow Feustel to apply more force without exceeding a specific point, but the bolt would still not release. The concern was that the bolt would shear, and the camera would be unable to be removed should that happened. Finally, managers approved Feustel to remove the limiter, and apply as much force as he safely thought it would take to release the bolt, which was successful.

The new camera will allow Hubble to take large-scale, extremely clear and detailed photos over a wider range of colors than the old camera did. After the installation, controllers at the Space Telescope Operations Control Center at Goddard Space Flight Center

Goddard Space Flight Center

The Goddard Space Flight Center is a major NASA space research laboratory established on May 1, 1959 as NASA's first space flight center. GSFC employs approximately 10,000 civil servants and contractors, and is located approximately northeast of Washington, D.C. in Greenbelt, Maryland, USA. GSFC,...

 sent commands to the camera to perform an aliveness test, which passed, indicating the camera was installed correctly.

The next task was to remove and replace the telescope's Science Instrument Command and Data Handling Unit, or SIC&DH, a computer that sends commands to Hubble’s science instruments, and formats science data for transmission to the ground. This was the item that failed in September 2008, delaying STS-125 while engineers prepared a replacement part for the mission, and the crew trained for the new task. While the failure of the SIC&DH did not disable the telescope, replacing the unit restores the redundancies. The final major task was to install the Soft-Capture Mechanism (SCM), which includes the 72 inches (1,828.8 mm) Low Impact Docking System

Low Impact Docking System

The NASA Docking System or international Low Impact Docking System is a spacecraft docking and berthing mechanism being developed by NASA for the next generation of space exploration vehicles, such as the Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle and the Commercial Crew vehicles...

 (LIDS) that will allow spacecraft in the future to dock with the telescope, and to safely de-orbit the telescope at the end of its life. Feustel also installed two of four Latch Over Center Kits, or LOCKs, that make opening and closing Hubble’s large access doors easier for the remaining spacewalks. The spacewalk officially ended at 20:12 UTC, for a time of seven hours and twenty minutes. It was the nineteenth spacewalk devoted to servicing the telescope, and brought the total time in servicing Hubble to one hundred thirty-six hours, thirty minutes. Due to the length of the spacewalk, and the delay in beginning, the crew was over an hour behind their scheduled timeline for the day, but worked through the post-EVA activities and evening activities without problems, and got to sleep only slightly behind their scheduled time. During the mission status briefing, David Leckrone, Hubble Project Senior Scientist, noted he was very relieved that the camera was replaced successfully, and noted that the problems with the bolt caused some concern, "I don't normally reveal my age and I'm not going to here, but I can tell you I'm five years older now than I was when I came to work this morning, we can sleep pretty well tonight, knowing that's been accomplished."

15 May (Flight day 5)

Following their wake up, the Atlantis crew set right to work preparing for the second spacewalk of the mission, with Massimino and Good suiting up with assistance from Grunsfeld and Feustel. As they were preparing for the EVA, the team on the ground informed the crew that the WFC3 had passed all the overnight functional tests, indicating it was in good working order.

While the spacewalk preparations were underway, Altman and McArthur completed a robotic survey of a small row of heat shield tiles that had not been sufficiently imaged during the day two inspection. Following the analysis of the survey, the managers cleared all of the TPS systems until the pre-landing inspection.

The mission's second spacewalk officially began at 12:49 UTC, and the pair set to work removing and replacing the telescope's three gyroscope rate sensing units (RSUs). Each unit contains two gyroscopes that allow the telescope to point itself. The first unit, RSU 2, was replaced without problems, but when they attempted to replace the second unit, RSU 3, the unit would not align onto the guide pins, and they could not seat it into the equipment bay. Managers decided to put the unit originally intended for the RSU 1 bay into the RSU 3 bay, and it was installed without problems. The pair then attempted to install the second unit into the third and final bay, but the unit again would not seat properly, and they were unable to install it. Instead, it was decided that an additional unit carried as a spare would be placed into the final bay. The spare unit was one that was removed during the STS-103

STS-103

STS-103 was a Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission by Space Shuttle Discovery. The mission launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on 19 December 1999 and returned on 27 December 1999.-Crew:-Mission parameters:*Mass:...

 mission, and had been refurbished on the ground. The installation of all three gyro units was a critical objective of the servicing mission, as three had failed, one was offline due to electrical issues, and the other two had also been experiencing issues with performance. Ground controllers at Goddard Space Flight Center confirmed that all six gyroscopes and the new battery passed preliminary tests.

The problems with seating the second RSU set the spacewalkers back in the timeline by approximately two hours, but after Altman asked Massimino and Good how they felt, they replied they were doing well and felt fine to continue. Flight controllers on the ground evaluated the consumables for the two spacesuits

Extravehicular Mobility Unit

The Space Shuttle/International Space Station Extravehicular Mobility Unit is an independent anthropomorphic system that provides environmental protection, mobility, life support, and communications for a Space Shuttle or International Space Station crew member to perform extra-vehicular activity...

, and decided that if Massimino recharged his suit's oxygen in the airlock, the pair could safely continue with the battery installation. After moving to the battery unit site, Good and Massimino removed one of the original battery modules from Bay 2 of the telescope, and replaced it with a new unit. The batteries provide power to the telescope when it passes into the Earth’s shadow and its solar arrays are not exposed to the sun. The spacewalk officially ended at 20:45 UTC, for a time of seven hours, fifty-six minutes. It was the twentieth spacewalk to service Hubble, bringing the total time in EVA servicing the telescope to one hundred forty-four hours and twenty-six minutes.

During the mission status briefing, Tomas Gonzalez-Torres, the Lead EVA Officer, and Hubble Program Manager Preston Burch both explained that the spare RSU would not impact the life of the telescope, as it had been fully refurbished on the ground with two of the three improvements incorporated in newer models. "I would say the difference in the projected longevity of the observatory in the out years is very small. We don't see this is a significant detriment at all to the observatory. This was a tremendous accomplishment for us." Burch noted. Lead Flight Director Tony Ceccacci noted that due to the length of the spacewalk, and the resulting slip in the timeline, the crew's sleep shift would have to be moved an hour later, to allow them to get the proper amount of rest, and the rest of the docked timeline would also be shifted forward an hour.

16 May (Flight day 6)

After awakening, the crew set to work preparing for the mission's third spacewalk, one that was considered the most challenging and uncertain, yet had some of the highest priority items scheduled. The tasks were to remove the obsolete Corrective Optics Space Telescope Axial Replacement

Corrective Optics Space Telescope Axial Replacement

The Corrective Optics Space Telescope Axial Replacement is the instrument designed to correct Hubble Space Telescope's spherical aberration for light focused at the FOC, FOS and GHRS instruments. Built by Ball Aerospace Corp., it replaced the High Speed Photometer during the first Hubble...

 (COSTAR), originally installed during STS-61

STS-61

STS-61 was the first Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission, and the fifth flight of the Space Shuttle Endeavour. The mission launched on 2 December 1993 from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission restored the spaceborne observatory's vision, marred by spherical aberration, with the...

 to correct the spherical aberration of Hubble's mirror, and install the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph

Cosmic Origins Spectrograph

The Cosmic Origins Spectrograph is a science instrument that was installed on the Hubble Space Telescope during Servicing Mission 4 in May 2009. It is designed for ultraviolet spectroscopy of faint point sources with a resolving power of ≈1,550–24,000...

 (COS), and to repair the Advanced Camera for Surveys

Advanced Camera for Surveys

The Advanced Camera for Surveys is a third generation axial instrument aboard the Hubble Space Telescope . The initial design and scientific capabilities of ACS were defined by a team based at Johns Hopkins University. ACS was assembled and tested extensively at Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp...

 (ACS). The ACS failed in June 2006 due to an electrical issue, and after being restored partially, failed again in 2007 due to an electrical short. The ACS was not designed to be serviced or repaired in space, so the task was considered one of the most challenging of the mission. After running into various snags in the first two spacewalks, managers on the ground were prepared to see unexpected issues arise during the complicated repair work. The spacewalk began at 13:35 UTC, and Grunsfeld and Feustel had no problems. The pair worked through their timeline so efficiently that they were over an hour ahead at one point. After removing COSTAR and stowing it in the orbiter's payload bay, they installed COS, and then moved on to the ACS repair. Using specially designed tools, they removed an access panel, replaced the camera's four circuit boards, and installed a new power supply.

The spacewalk was completed in six hours and thirty-six minutes, and the ACS passed the initial aliveness tests. It was the twenty-first Hubble servicing spacewalk, and Grunsfeld's seventh EVA, moving him up to fourth in the record book of spacewalking time. During the previous day's mission status briefing, Dave Leckrone, Hubble Space Telescope Senior Project Scientist, made a prediction, joking that since the first two spacewalks, which were considered to be straightforward, had run into issues, the most difficult EVA —- to repair the ACS, would be the smoothest one of the mission. "I have a prediction, We've always said EVA 3 was going to be the most difficult and the most challenging, and I predict it's going to go more smoothly than any other EVA on this mission. I just think that's some version of Murphy's Law that's going to lead us in that direction."

After the initial aliveness testing, the ACS was put through its functional tests. Managers and engineers had noted that the repairs were designed for only one of the three photo channels, the wide-field channel, and that the issues with the high-resolution channel may not be resolved by the designed fix. During the functional testing, the wide-field channel passed, but issues were seen with the high-resolution channel, indicating that the power issue may be farther upstream in the electronic circuits than the spacewalk repair addressed. Additional testing would be performed, but Hubble Program Manager Preston Burch noted that the fix was designed to "back power" the high-resolution channel through the paths connected to the wide-field channel, and while feasible, it was a possibility that the short circuit damage was in an area not corrected with the planned repair. Even if the high-resolution channel is unable to be restored, it was considered to be less important, since the bulk of the ACS science output is undertaken by the wide-field channel. The third channel, the solar-blind channel, passed overnight functional testing without issues.

17 May (Flight day 7)

Beginning the mission's fourth spacewalk at 13:45 UTC, Massimino and Good went to work repairing the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph

Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph

The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph is a spectrograph, also with a camera mode, installed on the Hubble Space Telescope. It operated continuously from 1997 until a power supply failure in 2004. After repairs, it began operating again in 2009...

 (STIS). The spectrograph failed in 2004 due to a blown power supply. As with the ACS, the STIS was not designed with the intention of servicing it while in space, and one of the major challenges was to remove a cover plate held tight with over 100 screws using a specially designed tool called a fastener-capture plate, designed to trap the screws and washers and prevent them from floating into space when removed. While preparing the fastener-capture plate, Massimino encountered issues with a handrail that had to be removed to accommodate the fastener-capture plate. The handrail had a stripped bolt on the bottom, preventing it from being released. After trying multiple options without success, managers on the ground advised Massimino to use brute force to remove the handrail, so he could proceed with the removal of the cover plate. The procedure was tested at Goddard Space Flight Center prior to approving it, showing that the stripped bolt could be broken off safely using force. Working inside the orbiter, Grunsfeld walked Massimino through the procedure slowly, advising him to tape the handrail with Kapton

Kapton

Kapton is a polyimide film developed by DuPont which can remain stable in a wide range of temperatures, from -273 to +400 °C...

 tape to prevent any parts from breaking off or flying loose, to be aware of the reaction the force would have, as well as to watch for sharp edges on the handrail after removal.

Once the handrail was removed, Massimino went to work attaching the capture plate, but ran into additional problems when the battery in one of his power tools failed. Massimino was instructed to return to the orbiter's airlock to retrieve a spare tool and to recharge his suit's oxygen reserves, to allow for completion of the STIS repair. The rest of the STIS repair work was completed without any problems, but the spacewalkers were nearly two hours behind the scheduled timeline, so managers on the ground decided to postpone the task of installing a New Outer Blanket Layers (NOBLs) onto the telescope's outer shell. The spacewalk, originally scheduled to last six hours and thirty minutes, ended at 21:02 UTC, for a time of eight hours and two minutes. At the time, it became the sixth longest spacewalk in history. It was the twenty-second spacewalk devoted to servicing the Hubble telescope, and Massimino's fourth spacewalk, bringing his total EVA time to thirty hours, forty-four minutes.

During the mission status briefing, Jennifer Wiseman

Jennifer Wiseman

Jennifer J. Wiseman is an American astronomer. She received her bachelor's degree in physics from MIT and her Ph.D. in Astronomy from Harvard University in 1995. Wiseman discovered periodic comet 114P/Wiseman-Skiff while working as an undergraduate research assistant in 1987...

, Chief of Exoplanet and Stellar Astrophysics for Goddard Space Flight Center, noted that the repair of STIS was a major victory for both the mission and the science community, as that part of the telescope performed unique functions, helping scientists understand the materials planets are composed of, and looking at things like the motion of stars around black hole

Black hole

A black hole is a region of spacetime from which nothing, not even light, can escape. The theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently compact mass will deform spacetime to form a black hole. Around a black hole there is a mathematically defined surface called an event horizon that...

s.

After initial aliveness testing that showed no issues, STIS was taken into functional testing, and issues were seen when the telescope put itself into safe mode

Safe mode (spacecraft)

Safe mode is an operating mode of a modern spacecraft during which all non-essential systems are shut down and only essential functions such as thermal management, radio reception and attitude control are active.-Triggering events:...

 due to a low thermal limit sensor. Ground controllers at Goddard would restart the testing once the thermal limit sensor was back in normal sensor range, but it is believed the component is in good shape.

18 May (Flight day 8)

Completing the fifth of the five planned spacewalks, Grunsfeld and Feustel successfully installed the second battery, removed and replaced the Fine Guidance Sensor

Fine Guidance Sensor

The Fine Guidance Sensor is an interferometric instrument on board the Hubble Space Telescope that provides high-precision pointing information as input to the observatory's attitude control systems....

 number three, and worked so efficiently that they were over an hour ahead of the timeline, giving them time to remove degraded insulation panels from three bays of the telescope, and install three New Outer Blanket Layers (NOBLs). Beginning the spacewalk at 12:20 UTC, the pair first worked on removing an aging battery module, and replaced it with a new pack, which combined with the battery replacement performed during the second spacewalk, gave the telescope all new nickel-hydrogen batteries. They then moved on to the removal and replacement of the Fine Guidance Sensor

Fine Guidance Sensor

The Fine Guidance Sensor is an interferometric instrument on board the Hubble Space Telescope that provides high-precision pointing information as input to the observatory's attitude control systems....

 unit number three, improving Hubble's focus and stability when imaging. NASA engineers liken the new FGS to being able to keep a laser beam focused on a U.S. dime coin that is 320 km away. Both the new batteries, and the FGS passed both aliveness and functional testing. The mission's final EVA concluded at 19:22 UTC, after seven hours and two minutes. The total time spent during the mission in extra-vehicular activity was thirty-six hours, fifty-six minutes. The twenty-third and final spacewalk to service Hubble brought the total time spent in EVA working on the telescope to one hundred and sixty-six hours, six minutes. Lead Flight Director Tony Ceccacci noted that the final EVA was also the last planned spacewalk from a shuttle airlock. In what was likely his last EVA, Grunsfeld's has accumulated fifty-eight hours and thirty minutes spacewalking, just two minutes less than Jerry L. Ross

Jerry L. Ross

Jerry Lynn Ross is a United States Air Force officer and a former NASA astronaut. He is a veteran of seven Space Shuttle missions, making him the record holder for most spaceflights .-Personal:Ross is married to the former Karen S. Pearson of Sheridan, Indiana. They have two children...

, who is third on the list of spacewalking time.

The completion of all the major objectives, as well as some that were not considered vital, upgraded the telescope to its most technologically advanced state since its launch nineteen years ago, and made it more powerful than ever. The upgrades will also help Hubble to see deeper into the universe, and farther into the past, closer to the time of the Big Bang

Big Bang

The Big Bang theory is the prevailing cosmological model that explains the early development of the Universe. According to the Big Bang theory, the Universe was once in an extremely hot and dense state which expanded rapidly. This rapid expansion caused the young Universe to cool and resulted in...

. Hubble's importance to science is not just seen in the dramatic images it provides, but also in the volume of work it has generated – an average of fourteen scientific articles are published each week based on data gathered from the telescope. Officially, the upgrades should extend Hubble's life through the year 2014, but Hubble Space Telescope Senior Scientist David Leckrone noted prior to the mission that if all of the mission's objectives were successful, the telescope could easily last longer than that. The next large telescope scheduled to be launched is the James Webb Space Telescope

James Webb Space Telescope

The James Webb Space Telescope , previously known as Next Generation Space Telescope , is a planned next-generation space telescope, optimized for observations in the infrared. The main technical features are a large and very cold 6.5 meter diameter mirror, an observing position far from Earth,...

 in 2014, which is infrared-only, so to have Hubble, which has ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared capabilities, still operational after 2014 would be of great benefit to the scientific community.

19 May (Flight day 9)

After awakening at 8:31 UTC, the crew set to work preparing to release Hubble from the payload bay of Atlantis. Using the shuttle's robotic arm, McArthur grappled Hubble at 10:45 UTC, and lifted it out of the orbiter's payload bay to prepare for the release. Good and Massimino were standing by ready to perform a spacewalk in the event that something went wrong during the telescope's deployment. After working through the checklist to prepare the telescope for release, managers on the ground gave the go to Altman to release Hubble, and at 12:57 UTC, McArthur successfully released the telescope as the vehicles flew over Africa. Performing a small separation burn, Johnson backed the orbiter away from the telescope, and Altman called down to managers on the ground confirming the deployment of Hubble. Commending the crew, Altman said "And Houston, Hubble has been released, it's safely back on its journey of exploration as we begin steps to conclude ours. Not everything went as we planned, but we planned a way to work around everything and with the whole team pulling together... we've been able to do some incredible things. And now Hubble can continue on its own, exploring the cosmos, and bringing it home to us as we head for home in a few days. Thank you." Hubble's new equipment and upgraded systems would be tested for several months prior to resuming operation, but if all tests are successful, operation of the telescope would resume in early September.

Following the separation burn, the crew set to work performing the standard late inspection of the thermal protection system of the orbiter. Using the robotic arm, McArthur, Altman, and Johnson worked through the procedures to inspect the wing leading-edge panels, reinforced carbon-carbon nose cap, and heat shield tiles. After evaluating the weather reports, managers on the ground slightly refined the schedule for landing, opting to bring the shuttle home one orbit early to try to avoid the possibility of showers that would prevent a landing on Friday. The new landing opportunity would bring the crew home at 10:01 am EDT.

20 May (Flight day 10)

After a busy week servicing Hubble, the crew of Atlantis had the majority of the day off, giving them time to rest and prepare for landing. They took their traditional on-orbit crew portrait, and spoke with reporters from around the world in a news conference. The crew also had the opportunity to speak with the Expedition 19

Expedition 19

Expedition 19 was the 19th long-duration flight to the International Space Station. This expedition launched on 26 March 2009, at 11:49 UTC aboard the Soyuz TMA-14 spacecraft. Expedition 19 was the final three crew member expedition, before the crew size increased to six crew members with...

 crew on board the International Space Station, in a conference call routed through satellites. The station crew congratulated them on a very successful mission, and the crew of Atlantis expressed their gratitude to the station crew for all the work they do during their long duration stays on the station.

The Spaceflight Meteorology Group at Johnson Space Center was predicting less than favorable weather for Friday's landing, so managers asked the crew to power down some non-critical systems to help conserve power, in the event that the orbiter is not able to land until Saturday.

After evaluating the imagery sent down from the late inspection, the ground team officially cleared the orbiter's thermal protection system for re-entry. Initially, NASA had planned on releasing Endeavour from its stand-by status following the late inspection, but managers on the ground decided to wait until Atlantis had performed the de-orbit burn before standing down the STS-400 rescue mission officially.

Before going to sleep, the crew took a phone call from President

President of the United States

The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

 Barack Obama

Barack Obama

Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...

, who congratulated them on their successful mission, joked with them, asking if they could see his house in Chicago, and expressed his pride in the crew. Obama told the crew, "Like a lot of Americans, I've been watching with amazement the gorgeous images you've been sending back, and the incredible repair mission you've been making in space," he said. "I think you're providing a wonderful example of the kind of dedication and commitment to exploration that represents America and the space program generally. These are traits that have always made this country strong, and all of you personify them."

21 May (Flight day 11)

The crew spent the day in preparations for Friday's landing. After working through their post-sleep activities, Altman, Johnson and McArthur performed a check-out of the flight control surfaces, performed a reaction control system hot-fire, and went through communications checks with managers on the ground. The rest of the crew worked to stow away items that were used during the mission. The crew held a deorbit preparations briefing with the ground teams, and Altman and Johnson worked with the simulator on board to run through a series of landing simulations.

In the afternoon, the crew became the first shuttle crew to ever testify live from orbit in a United States Senate

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

 hearing. Barbara Mikulski

Barbara Mikulski

Barbara Ann Mikulski is the senior United States Senator from Maryland and a member of the Democratic Party. Mikulski, a former U.S. Representative, is the longest-serving female senator in U.S...

, Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies, and former astronaut Senator Bill Nelson

Bill Nelson

Clarence William "Bill" Nelson is the senior United States Senator from the state of Florida and a member of the Democratic Party. He is a former U.S. Representative and former Treasurer and Insurance Commissioner of Florida...

 of Florida, spoke with the crew about the importance of spaceflight and the repair of Hubble. The first person to give testimony from space was John L. Phillips

John L. Phillips

John Lynch Phillips, PhD is a NASA astronaut. Phillips is also a retired Captain of the United States Navy Reserve. Phillips has received numerous awards and special honors. He is a National Merit Scholar, graduated 2nd in his class of 906 people at the U.S. Naval Academy in 1972...

, who testified before the House Science Committee, Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics in June 2005 while a member of Expedition 11

Expedition 11

Expedition 11 was the 11th expedition to the International Space Station, using the Soyuz TMA-6, which stayed during the expedition for emergency evacuation....

 on board the International Space Station. The crew of Atlantis later spoke with reporters from the major networks CNN

CNN

Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...

, ABC

ABC Television

ABC Television is a service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation launched in 1956. As a public broadcasting broadcaster, the ABC provides four non-commercial channels within Australia, and a partially advertising-funded satellite channel overseas....

, NBC

NBC

The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

, CBS

CBS

CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...

, and FOX

Fox Broadcasting Company

Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...

 before going to sleep.

While the weather in Florida continued to look grim for a landing Friday, managers on the ground advised the crew that they would proceed with deorbit preparations as planned, and see if the weather cleared up in the morning. NASA managers stated that for Friday, they would focus on a KSC landing for Friday, not activating any of the backup sites, but if the weather was not favorable for a Friday landing, Edwards Air Force Base

Edwards Air Force Base

Edwards Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located on the border of Kern County, Los Angeles County, and San Bernardino County, California, in the Antelope Valley. It is southwest of the central business district of North Edwards, California and due east of Rosamond.It is named in...

 could be activated on Saturday. Atlantis has enough consumables to stay in orbit until Monday.

Also late on Thursday, managers officially released Endeavour from its stand-by state, as Atlantis was cleared of any damage to its heat shield and was in good shape to return to Earth.

22 May (Flight day 12)

As the crew worked through the procedures and checklists for entry on Friday, the managers on the ground closely examined the weather patterns around Florida, which were less than favorable. The crew was advised that there were low clouds and thunderstorms, both conditions that violated landing criteria, so managers waived the first opportunity. A second opportunity was also not taken, as the weather had not improved. Entry Flight Director Norm Knight called up Edwards Air Force Base shortly after the decision to delay to Saturday was made, which would give the crew a total of six Saturday landing opportunities, three at each location.

23 May (Flight day 13)

The crew of Atlantis had six possible landing opportunities on Saturday. Managers evaluated the best three opportunities of the day to try bring the orbiter home. Saturday's first landing opportunity at Kennedy Space Center was waived due to poor weather forecasts, and observed weather violations for the landing criteria. After further evaluating weather patterns around Florida, managers on the ground chose to waive the second opportunity as well, and wait one more day to attempt to get the orbiter into Florida on Sunday. Weather in California had excellent forecasts, so if the attempts on Sunday to land in Florida were not successful, the shuttle would be able to land at Edwards Air Force Base without weather being an issue.

24 May (Flight day 14, landing)

The Atlantis crew had two Florida return opportunities for the day, as well as two for a California landing, giving the managers time to evaluate the weather and use California if necessary. After choosing to pass on the first opportunity for KSC and evaluate the second, managers on the ground decided that the weather in Florida was too dynamic to risk bringing the orbiter in, and opted to land at Edwards Air Force Base instead. The de-orbit burn was initiated at 14:24 UTC, a burn of the shuttle's engines that brought it out of orbit to begin the orbiter's reentry

Atmospheric reentry

Atmospheric entry is the movement of human-made or natural objects as they enter the atmosphere of a celestial body from outer space—in the case of Earth from an altitude above the Kármán Line,...

 into the Earth's atmosphere

Earth's atmosphere

The atmosphere of Earth is a layer of gases surrounding the planet Earth that is retained by Earth's gravity. The atmosphere protects life on Earth by absorbing ultraviolet solar radiation, warming the surface through heat retention , and reducing temperature extremes between day and night...

. Atlantis successfully landed at Edwards Air Force Base on Runway 22 at 8:39 am PDT after 197 orbits in space and a distance of approximately 5.2 million miles.

After working through the checklists to safely power down the orbiter, the crew performed the traditional walk-around of the shuttle and met with employees from NASA. Speaking briefly to the press following the walk around, Altman joked, "I didn't realize it was going to be so hard to get back to the Earth! We're all thrilled to have the mission complete."

During the post-landing briefing, Associate Administrator for Space Sciences Ed Weiler declared the mission a total success, and after noting the rocky road that it took to get the mission completed, said he considered the mission to be Hubble's Great American Comeback story, chapter two.

Post landing

Following standard post-landing processing at Edwards Air Force Base, Atlantis was lifted into the air using the Mate-DeMate device, and attached to the top of a modified Boeing 747

Boeing 747

The Boeing 747 is a wide-body commercial airliner and cargo transport, often referred to by its original nickname, Jumbo Jet, or Queen of the Skies. It is among the world's most recognizable aircraft, and was the first wide-body ever produced...

, called a Shuttle Carrier Aircraft

Shuttle Carrier Aircraft

The Shuttle Carrier Aircraft are two extensively modified Boeing 747 airliners that NASA uses to transport Space Shuttle orbiters...

 (SCA) for its return flight to Florida. After departing California on 1 June, the flight made an overnight stop at Biggs Army Airfield

Biggs Army Airfield

Biggs Army Airfield or Biggs AAF is a military airport located at Fort Bliss near El Paso, El Paso County, Texas, in the United States. The airfield was previously Biggs Air Force Base, a Strategic Air Command installation, between 1947 and 1966. The U.S. Army began operations supporting Ft...

 in El Paso, Texas

El Paso, Texas

El Paso, is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States...

, and on 2 June made stops in San Antonio, Texas

San Antonio, Texas

San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...

, and Columbus, Mississippi

Columbus, Mississippi

Columbus is a city in Lowndes County, Mississippi, United States that lies above the Tombigbee River. It is approximately northeast of Jackson, north of Meridian, south of Tupelo, northwest of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and west of Birmingham, Alabama. The population was 25,944 at the 2000 census...

 to refuel. After performing a flyby of the coast, the SCA landed at Kennedy Space Center at 6:53 p.m EDT on 2 June 2009. One of the heavier return flights, Atlantis was still carrying the cargo from the mission in the payload bay, and weighed approximately one quarter of a million pounds. Combined with the 747, the total weight of the vehicle was approximately six hundred thousand pounds. Atlantis was removed from the SCA and towed to the Orbiter Processing Facility

Orbiter Processing Facility

An Orbiter Processing Facility was one of three hangars where U.S. space shuttle orbiters underwent maintenance between flights. All three such facilities, OPF-1, OPF-2 and OPF-3, were located at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida at Launch Complex 39.They were located west of the Vehicle...

 late 2 June.

Extra-vehicular activity

Five back-to-back EVA

Extra-vehicular activity

Extra-vehicular activity is work done by an astronaut away from the Earth, and outside of a spacecraft. The term most commonly applies to an EVA made outside a craft orbiting Earth , but also applies to an EVA made on the surface of the Moon...

s were planned for the mission. Spacewalks one through four were originally scheduled to last six hours, thirty minutes, while the fifth spacewalk was scheduled to last five hours, forty-five minutes. All five EVAs were conducted successfully, for a total time in EVA activity of thirty-six hours, fifty-six minutes.

EVA	Spacewalkers	Start (UTC Coordinated Universal Time Coordinated Universal Time is the primary time standard by which the world regulates clocks and time. It is one of several closely related successors to Greenwich Mean Time. Computer servers, online services and other entities that rely on having a universally accepted time use UTC for that purpose... )	End (UTC)	Duration
EVA 1	John M. Grunsfeld John M. Grunsfeld John Mace Grunsfeld is an American physicist and a NASA astronaut. He is a veteran of five spaceflights and has also served as NASA Chief Scientist.-Personal :...   Andrew J. Feustel Andrew J. Feustel Andrew J. Feustel is an American Geophysicist and a NASA astronaut. His first spaceflight in May 2009, named STS-125, lasted just under 13 days . This was a mission with six other astronauts to repair the Hubble Space Telescope, aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis. Feustel performed three spacewalks...	14 May 2009 12:52	14 May 2009 20:12	7 hours, 20 minutes
	Replaced the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 The Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 is a baby grand piano sized camera built by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and formerly installed on the Hubble Space Telescope. It was installed by servicing mission 1 in 1993, replacing the telescope's original Wide Field and Planetary Camera...  (WFPC2) with Wide Field Camera 3 Wide Field Camera 3 The Wide Field Camera 3 is the Hubble Space Telescope's last and most technologically advanced instrument to take images in the visible spectrum...  (WFC3), replaced the Science Instrument Command and Data Handling Unit, lubricated three of the shroud doors, and installed a mechanism for spacecraft to capture Hubble for de-orbit at the end of the telescope's life (Soft Capture Mechanism).
EVA 2	Michael J. Massimino Michael J. Massimino Michael James Massimino is an American engineer and a NASA astronaut. Mike is a veteran of two Space Shuttle missions, both of which serviced the Hubble Space Telescope , including the historic final repair mission.-Personal life:...   Michael T. Good Michael T. Good Michael Timothy "Bueno" Good is a NASA astronaut and retired commissioned officer in the United States Air Force, holding the rank of Colonel. Mike Good flew aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis for its STS-125 mission. STS-125 was the final Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission...	15 May 2009 12:49	15 May 2009 20:45	7 hours, 56 minutes
	Removed and replaced all three of Hubble's gyroscope rate sensing units (RSUs). Removed and replaced the first of two battery unit modules.
EVA 3	Grunsfeld Feustel	16 May 2009 13:35	16 May 2009 20:11	6 hours, 36 minutes
	Removed COSTAR Corrective Optics Space Telescope Axial Replacement The Corrective Optics Space Telescope Axial Replacement is the instrument designed to correct Hubble Space Telescope's spherical aberration for light focused at the FOC, FOS and GHRS instruments. Built by Ball Aerospace Corp., it replaced the High Speed Photometer during the first Hubble... , stowed it for return; installed the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph Cosmic Origins Spectrograph The Cosmic Origins Spectrograph is a science instrument that was installed on the Hubble Space Telescope during Servicing Mission 4 in May 2009. It is designed for ultraviolet spectroscopy of faint point sources with a resolving power of ≈1,550–24,000...  in its place; removed four faulty electronics cards from the Advanced Camera for Surveys Advanced Camera for Surveys The Advanced Camera for Surveys is a third generation axial instrument aboard the Hubble Space Telescope . The initial design and scientific capabilities of ACS were defined by a team based at Johns Hopkins University. ACS was assembled and tested extensively at Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp...  and replaced them with a new electronics box and cable.
EVA 4	Massimino Good	17 May 2009 13:45	17 May 2009 21:47	8 hours, 2 minutes
	Removed and replaced an electronics card for the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph is a spectrograph, also with a camera mode, installed on the Hubble Space Telescope. It operated continuously from 1997 until a power supply failure in 2004. After repairs, it began operating again in 2009...  (STIS). The spacewalk was extended due to problems removing a handrail as well as problems with a power tool, causing the spacewalk to end as the sixth longest EVA to that time.
EVA 5	Grunsfeld Feustel	18 May 2009 12:20	18 May 2009 19:22	7 hours, 2 minutes
	The twenty-third and final spacewalk to service Hubble, and last planned EVA from a shuttle airlock replaced the final battery module, installed Fine Guidance Sensor Fine Guidance Sensor The Fine Guidance Sensor is an interferometric instrument on board the Hubble Space Telescope that provides high-precision pointing information as input to the observatory's attitude control systems....  No. 3, removed degraded insulation panels from bays 5, 7 and 8, and installed three New Outer Blanket Layers (NOBLs) in their place, and removed and reinstalled a protective cover around Hubble's low-gain antenna.

Wake-up calls

NASA began a tradition of playing music to astronauts during the Gemini program, which was first used to wake up a flight crew during Apollo 15

Apollo 15

Apollo 15 was the ninth manned mission in the American Apollo space program, the fourth to land on the Moon and the eighth successful manned mission. It was the first of what were termed "J missions", long duration stays on the Moon with a greater focus on science than had been possible on previous...

. Each track is specially chosen, often by their families, and usually has a special meaning to an individual member of the crew, or is applicable to their daily activities.

Flight Day	Song	Artist/Composer	Played for	Links
Day 2	"Kryptonite Kryptonite (song) "Kryptonite" is a song by the American rock band 3 Doors Down. It was originally released as a demo for local play by 97.9 WCPR-FM in Biloxi, Mississippi... "	3 Doors Down 3 Doors Down 3 Doors Down is an American rock band from Escatawpa formed in 1996. The band consists of Brad Arnold , Matt Roberts , Todd Harrell , Chris Henderson , and Greg Upchurch ....	Pilot Gregory Johnson Gregory C. Johnson Gregory Carl "Ray J" Johnson , is a NASA astronaut and a retired captain in the United States Navy who spent his military career in both the Regular United States Navy and the Navy Reserve...	WAV MP3 TRANSCRIPT
Day 3	"Upside Down Upside Down (Jack Johnson song) "Upside Down" is a song written and played by Jack Johnson. It is the first track on the album Sing-A-Longs and Lullabies for the Film Curious George, which was released in February 2006. It was also released as a single in February 2006. It peaked at #38 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was Johnson's... "	Jack Johnson Jack Johnson (musician) Jack Johnson was born May 18, 1975 is an American folk rock singer-songwriter, surfer and musician known for his work in the soft rock and acoustic genres. In 2001, he achieved commercial success after the release of his debut album, Brushfire Fairytales. He has since released four more albums, a...	Mission Specialist Megan McArthur K. Megan McArthur Katherine Megan McArthur is an American oceanographer and a NASA astronaut. She has served as a CAPCOM for both the space shuttle and space station. Megan McArthur has flown one space shuttle mission, STS-125. She is known as the last person to be hands on with the Hubble Space Telescope...	WAV MP3 TRANSCRIPT
Day 4	"Stickshifts and Safetybelts Fashion Nugget Fashion Nugget is the second studio album by Cake, an alternative rock band from Sacramento, California. It was released in 1996, and contains 14 songs. "The Distance" became one of the band's biggest hits... "	CAKE Cake (band) Cake is an American alternative rock band from Sacramento, California. Consisting of singer John McCrea, trumpeter Vince DiFiore, guitarist Xan McCurdy, bassist Gabe Nelson and drummer Paulo Baldi, the band has been noted for McCrea's sarcastic lyrics and deadpan voice, DiFiore's trumpet parts, and...	Mission Specialist Andrew Feustel Andrew J. Feustel Andrew J. Feustel is an American Geophysicist and a NASA astronaut. His first spaceflight in May 2009, named STS-125, lasted just under 13 days . This was a mission with six other astronauts to repair the Hubble Space Telescope, aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis. Feustel performed three spacewalks...	WAV MP3 TRANSCRIPT
Day 5	"God of Wonders"	Third Day Third Day Third Day is a Grammy award-winning Christian rock band formed in Marietta, Georgia during the 1990s. The band was founded by lead singer Mac Powell, guitarist Mark Lee and former member Billy Wilkins. The other band members are bassist Tai Anderson and drummer David Carr...	Mission Specialist Michael Good Michael T. Good Michael Timothy "Bueno" Good is a NASA astronaut and retired commissioned officer in the United States Air Force, holding the rank of Colonel. Mike Good flew aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis for its STS-125 mission. STS-125 was the final Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission...	WAV MP3 TRANSCRIPT
Day 6	"Hotel Cepollina" (Parody of Hotel California Hotel California (song) "Hotel California" is the title song from the Eagles' album of the same name and was released as a single in February 1977. It is one of the best-known songs of the album-oriented rock era. Writing credits for the song are shared by Don Felder, Don Henley and Glenn Frey...  in honor of Frank Cepollina Frank Cepollina Frank J. "Cepi" Cepollina was born in 1936 in Castro Valley, California is an American engineer and inventor. He was officially inducted to the National Inventors Hall of Fame for his pioneering concept of in-orbit satellite servicing in May 2003... )	Fuzzbox Piranha	Mission Specialist John Grunsfeld John M. Grunsfeld John Mace Grunsfeld is an American physicist and a NASA astronaut. He is a veteran of five spaceflights and has also served as NASA Chief Scientist.-Personal :...	WAV MP3 TRANSCRIPT
Day 7	"New York State of Mind New York State of Mind "New York State of Mind" is a song written by Billy Joel which initially appeared on the album Turnstiles in 1976. While not a hit when it was first released, it has received much more frequent airplay in recent years... "	Billy Joel Billy Joel William Martin "Billy" Joel is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to...	Mission Specialist Michael Massimino Michael J. Massimino Michael James Massimino is an American engineer and a NASA astronaut. Mike is a veteran of two Space Shuttle missions, both of which serviced the Hubble Space Telescope , including the historic final repair mission.-Personal life:...	WAV MP3 TRANSCRIPT
Day 8	"Sound of Your Voice"	Barenaked Ladies Barenaked Ladies Barenaked Ladies is a Canadian alternative rock band. The band is currently composed of Jim Creeggan, Kevin Hearn, Ed Robertson, and Tyler Stewart. Barenaked Ladies formed in 1988 in Scarborough, Ontario, then a suburban municipality outside the City of Toronto...	Commander Scott Altman Scott Altman Scott Douglas "Scooter" Altman, is a United States Navy Captain test pilot and former NASA astronaut. He is a veteran of four space shuttle missions. His fourth mission on STS-125 was the last servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope.-Personal:Born in Lincoln, Illinois, Scott is married to...	WAV MP3 TRANSCRIPT
Day 9	"Lie in Our Graves Lie in Our Graves "Lie in Our Graves" is a song by the Dave Matthews Band, featured on the 1996 album Crash.-Song explanation:"Lie in Our Graves" is one of many songs in the band's catalog with a carpe diem theme, speaking to the importance of embracing what life has to offer while one still can "Lie in Our Graves"... "	Dave Matthews Band Dave Matthews Band Dave Matthews Band, sometimes shortened to DMB, is a U.S. rock band formed in Charlottesville, Virginia in 1991. The founding members were singer-songwriter and guitarist Dave Matthews, bassist Stefan Lessard, drummer/backing vocalist Carter Beauford and saxophonist LeRoi Moore. Boyd Tinsley was...	McArthur	WAV MP3 TRANSCRIPT
Day 10	"Theme from Star Trek"	Alexander Courage Alexander Courage Alexander "Sandy" Mair Courage Jr. was an American orchestrator, arranger, and composer of music, primarily for television and film.-Biography:...	STS-125 Crew	WAV MP3 TRANSCRIPT
Day 11	"Cantina Band"	John Williams John Williams John Towner Williams is an American composer, conductor, and pianist. In a career spanning almost six decades, he has composed some of the most recognizable film scores in the history of motion pictures, including the Star Wars saga, Jaws, Superman, the Indiana Jones films, E.T...	STS-125 Crew	WAV MP3 TRANSCRIPT
Day 12	"Galaxy Song Galaxy Song "The Galaxy Song" is a song written by Eric Idle which originally appeared in the 1983 film Monty Python's The Meaning of Life, later being released onto the album Monty Python Sings. The song appears toward the end of a sketch named Live Organ Transplants where the 'surgeon', upon failing to... "	From the movie Monty Python's The Meaning of Life	STS-125 Crew	WAV MP3 TRANSCRIPT
Day 13	"Where My Heart Will Take Me" (Theme from Star Trek: Enterprise Star Trek: Enterprise Star Trek: Enterprise is a science fiction television series. It follows the adventures of humanity's first warp 5 starship, the Enterprise, ten years before the United Federation of Planets shown in previous Star Trek series was formed.Enterprise premiered on September 26, 2001... )	Russell Watson Russell Watson Russell Watson is an English tenor who has released singles and albums of both operatic-style and pop songs. The self-styled "People's Tenor" had been singing since he was a child, and became known after performing at a working men's club...	STS-125 Crew	WAV MP3 TRANSCRIPT
Day 14	"Ride of the Valkyries Ride of the Valkyries The Ride of the Valkyries is the popular term for the beginning of Act III of Die Walküre, the second of the four operas by Richard Wagner that comprise Der Ring des Nibelungen. The main theme of the Ride, the leitmotif labelled Walkürenritt, was first written down by the composer on 23 July 1851... "	Richard Wagner Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...	STS-125 Crew	WAV MP3 TRANSCRIPT
In an end-of-mission twist, following the final wake up call, the Atlantis crew played "Take Me Home Take Me Home (Phil Collins song) *US: Atlantic / 7-89472*Germany: WEA / 258 830-7*Japan: WEA / P2058-12" vinyl single:*UK: Virgin / VS777-12*UK: Virgin / VSM777-12... " by Phil Collins Phil Collins Philip David Charles "Phil" Collins, LVO is an English singer-songwriter, drummer, pianist and actor best known as a drummer and vocalist for British progressive rock group Genesis and as a solo artist....  for the Mission Control Orbit Three team as a thank you for their hard work during the mission, and their work to bring the orbiter home.

Contingency mission

STS-125 was the only planned shuttle mission after the Columbia accident

Space Shuttle Columbia disaster

The Space Shuttle Columbia disaster occurred on February 1, 2003, when shortly before it was scheduled to conclude its 28th mission, STS-107, the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated over Texas and Louisiana during re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere, resulting in the death of all seven crew members...

 to be launched into a low-inclination orbit that did not allow rendezvous with the International Space Station

International Space Station

The International Space Station is a habitable, artificial satellite in low Earth orbit. The ISS follows the Salyut, Almaz, Cosmos, Skylab, and Mir space stations, as the 11th space station launched, not including the Genesis I and II prototypes...

. Due to the inclination and other orbit parameters of Hubble, Atlantis would have been unable to use the International Space Station

International Space Station

The International Space Station is a habitable, artificial satellite in low Earth orbit. The ISS follows the Salyut, Almaz, Cosmos, Skylab, and Mir space stations, as the 11th space station launched, not including the Genesis I and II prototypes...

 as a safe haven in the event of structural or mechanical failure. To preserve NASA's post-Columbia requirement of having shuttle Launch On Need

STS-3xx

Space Shuttle missions designated STS-3xx were rescue missions which would have been mounted to rescue the crew of a Space Shuttle if their vehicle was damaged and deemed unable to make a successful reentry...

 (LON) rescue capability, STS-400

STS-400

- Early mission plans :Three different concept mission plans were evaluated: The first would be to use a shuttle-to-shuttle docking, where the rescue shuttle docks with the damaged shuttle, by flying upside down and backwards, relative to the damaged shuttle...

 was the flight designation given to the Contingency Shuttle Crew Support (CSCS) mission which would have been flown by Endeavour in the event Atlantis became disabled during STS-125. After Atlantis performed the late inspection and was cleared for re-entry, Endeavour was officially released from stand-by status on Thursday, 21 May.

See also

• 2009 in spaceflight
  2009 in spaceflight
  Several significant events in spaceflight occurred in 2009, including Iran conducting its first indigenous orbital launch, the first Swiss satellite being launched and New Zealand launching its first sounding rocket. The H-IIB and Naro-1 rockets conducted maiden flights, whilst the Tsyklon-3,...
  
  
• Space Shuttle program
  Space Shuttle program
  NASA's Space Shuttle program, officially called Space Transportation System , was the United States government's manned launch vehicle program from 1981 to 2011...
  
  
• List of space shuttle missions
• List of spacewalks since 2000
• List of cumulative spacewalk records
• List of human spaceflights chronologically

External links

• STS-125 HST-SM4 page on NASA.gov
• Space Telescope Science Institute's official Hubble site – Servicing Mission 4 on Hubblesite.org
• Hubble Service Mission Four Factsheet
• STS-125 NASA Press Kit
• Hubble Servicing Mission 4 at ESA's Hubble site
• NASA on Twitter

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.