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'It's a beautiful sight'
February 13, 1997
Web posted at: 6:20 a.m. EST (1120 GMT)JOHNSON SPACE CENTER, Texas (CNN) - After a two-day chase, the space shuttle Discovery's robot arm reached out Thursday and gently grabbed the gleaming Hubble Space Telescope to begin a $350 million refurbishment.
The 50-foot -long robot arm, operated by astronaut Steve Hawley, captured the silvery 12-ton observatory at 3:33 a.m. EST as the two craft soared 360 miles above the Pacific Ocean, southwest of Mexico.
(760K/17 sec. Small frame QuickTime movie)
Hawley, who rejoined NASA's astronaut corps for this mission, released the telescope into space for the first time during a 1990 shuttle mission.
"I wish you could see the expression on Dr. Stevie's face," shuttle commander Ken Bowersox radioed Mission Control. "Looks like he just shook hands with an old friend."
"Congratulations to all of you for an outstanding rendezvous and a great capture," Mission Control's Marc Garneau replied. "We're looking forward to getting out there and starting to work on that telescope."
Gathering galactic evidence
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It was NASA's first look at Hubble since December 1993, when astronauts last visited the telescope.
Since then, the Hubble telescope has provided scientists with the first conclusive evidence for the existence of huge black holes and discovery of planetary nurseries around stars.
The telescope has also collected light emission data from distant galaxies and other evidence that the universe may be much younger than previously thought.
Bowersox, who was on the '93 repair mission, assured Mission Control that Hubble looked the same.
"It's a beautiful sight," he said.
The telescope was gently lowered onto a servicing platform in the rear of the shuttle's 60-foot-long cargo bay at about 4 a.m. EST.
The successful capture came after Bowersox and copilot Scott Horowitz had maneuvered Discovery 35 feet below Hubble, bringing it within reach of the arm.
"We went a little slow there at the end," Bowersox said. "We just wanted to make the rendezvous last longer. It was so much fun."
Building a new and improved 'scope
The work to replace Hubble's worn-out components -- the telescope has traveled 996 million miles since its launch and circled Earth more than 37,000 times -- will begin Thursday night under the direction of lead spacewalker Mark Lee.
During the service call, the astronauts plan to install two improved scientific instruments, each about the size of a large refrigerator.
A $105 million multipurpose infrared camera will allow astronomers to see deeper into the universe than ever before and may discover planets orbiting other stars, while a $125 million improved spectrograph will help in the search for massive black holes devouring stars in the center of galaxies.
Other planned upgrades included a new digital tape recorder, a more accurate guidance sensor for pointing the telescope and various improved electronic boxes.
The refurbishment work will be complicated by the telescope's fragile electricity-generating solar arrays. The twin wings appeared to be warped in television pictures beamed back during the shuttle's final approach.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
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CNN Interactive's extended coverageRelated stories:
- Shuttle Discovery blasts off on Hubble service mission - February 11, 1997
- Anxious NASA officials watch high readings on shuttle - February 10, 1997
- NASA looks for oxygen leak; shuttle liftoff still on schedul - February 9, 1997
Related sites:
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- Hubble Space Telescope Science
- Johnson Space Center Shuttle Countdown STS-82
- Space Station Mir Info Page
- Tracking the mission
- Meet the Crew
- Watch the crew - NASA TV
- Watch the crew - streaming video
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