astronauts

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Astronauts Release Hubble on Final Run

Telescope to go where no one has gone before, never return

(Newser) - Atlantis' astronauts gingerly dropped the Hubble Space Telescope overboard today, sending the restored observatory off on a new voyage of discovery and bidding it farewell on behalf of the planet, reports the AP. The shuttle and telescope had just crossed the Atlantic, and were soaring 350 miles above the coast...

Astronauts Wrap Up Hubble 'Scope Repairs

(Newser) - After 5 amazing days, spacewalking astronauts finished repair work on the Hubble Space Telescope today and shut the doors to the treasured observatory, which will never be touched by human hands again. NASA said the revived telescope will be better than ever thanks to the astronauts' efforts and should provide...

Astronauts Take Final Hubble Spacewalk

The final mission to repair the telescope will finish Tuesday

(Newser) - Spacewalking astronauts ventured out today to finish repairs on the Hubble Space Telescope, never to be touched by human hands again. It was the fifth and final spacewalk for the crew of the shuttle Atlantis, and the final planned visit by astronauts, ever, to Hubble. The astronauts outfitted Hubble with...

Stuck Bolt Throws Wrench in Hubble Repairs

Spacewalk becomes sixth longest in history

(Newser) - Yesterday was a frustratingly long day in space as Atlantis astronauts struggled to fix a long-broken spectrograph on the Hubble Space Telescope. They ultimately succeeded, but a stuck bolt and dead battery prolonged the spacewalk to 8 hours—making it the sixth longest in history, Space.com reports. Astronauts also...

Smile! Astronauts Fix Broken Hubble Cam

(Newser) - Spacewalking astronauts gave the Hubble Space Telescope a more commanding view of the cosmos by installing a new high-tech instrument today, then pulled off their toughest job yet: fixing a broken camera. It was the third spacewalk in as many days for the shuttle Atlantis crew, and it was the...

Spacewalkers Wrap Up Tricky Hubble Job

(Newser) - Spacewalking astronauts had to put a refurbished pair of gyroscopes into the Hubble Space Telescope after a brand new set refused to go in yesterday, but scientists were satisfied nonetheless and confident the observatory would point precisely to more distant objects in the cosmos. Replacing the gyroscopes was the...

Spacewalking Astronauts Fix Hubble Gyroscopes

Spacewalk is second of five planned

(Newser) - Astronauts from the shuttle Atlantis headed out for another spacewalk today, this time to give the Hubble telescope some new gyroscopes and batteries. The gyroscopes—a top priority—are part of the telescope pointing system, and half of the old ones are broken. The two space walkers ventured out as...

Hubble Gets New Camera
 Hubble Gets New Camera 
May 14, 2009 4:58 PM CDT

Hubble Gets New Camera

(Newser) - The Hubble space telescope got some improved vision today in the form of a new camera. Two Atlantis astronauts completed a seven-hour spacewalk to give the 19-year-old telescope a much-needed upgrade, Space.com reports. "Woo-hoo, it's moving out," said astronaut Andrew Feustel after the old camera refused to...

Shuttle Atlantis Snags Hubble
 Shuttle Atlantis Snags Hubble 
May 13, 2009 12:52 PM CDT

Shuttle Atlantis Snags Hubble

(Newser) - The Atlantis astronauts have captured the Hubble Space Telescope, grabbing the orbiting observatory early this afternoon for the first time since 2002. Astronaut Megan McArthur caught the school bus-sized telescope with the space shuttle's robot arm. The crew now faces five days of treacherous telescope repairs to the 19-year-old Hubble.

Atlantis Crew Finds Minor Damage to Shield

(Newser) - Atlantis astronauts found some minor damage to the shuttle’s heat shield during an arduous, nine-hour inspection today, Space.com reports, with NASA officials saying nicks sustained during liftoff weren’t a serious concern, but that more analysis was needed. Astronauts will inspect the shield—vital to the shuttle’s...

Atlantis Lifts Off on Mission to Hubble

(Newser) - The space shuttle Atlantis and seven astronauts blasted off today en route to the Hubble Space Telescope. It is NASA's final trip to Hubble and comes after a seven-month delay. Atlantis and its crew were supposed to fly to Hubble last fall, but the telescope broke down. The telescope is...

NASA Gives Atlantis Crew Go Ahead for Hubble Rescue

Oft-delayed mission set to launch tomorrow

(Newser) - NASA has declared space shuttle Atlantis' crew fit to fly, and weather permitting, the much-delayed 11-day mission to fix the Hubble Space Telescope will take off tomorrow, reports Space.com. Endeavour is standing by just in case Atlantis itself needs rescuing. The mission includes five spacewalks and lots of tinkering...

NASA, Pols Cringe at Space Station Costs

Washington standoff delays funding, key nomination

(Newser) - After years of wrangling, the US and other operators of the International Space Station have resolved to keep the facility operating through 2020, but the 5-year extension deal is creating new challenges, the Wall Street Journal reports. Washington will need to fork out at least $10 billion, which could cut...

Mock Mars Mission Blasts Off
 Mock Mars Mission Blasts Off 
Mar 31, 2009 12:26 PM CDT

Mock Mars Mission Blasts Off

Experimenters will spend 105 days locked in fake spaceship

(Newser) - Europe launched its first shot at a manned mission to the Red Planet today—by locking six scientists in a tiny capsule in Moscow for 105 days to simulate the voyage, the BBC reports. The volunteers, who can leave the experiment but score $20000 if they make it, will perform...

First Repeat Space Tourist Arrives at ISS

(Newser) - A Russian spacecraft carrying a cosmonaut, an astronaut, and the first two-time space tourist has docked with the International Space Station, the CBC reports. The Soyuz capsule will soon offload the two crew members and US billionaire Charles Simonyi. Simonyi will return to Earth in the same capsule on April...

India Struggles to Create Astronaut 'Space Curry'

(Newser) - One of the biggest challenges of India’s burgeoning space program is culinary, the London Times reports. Researchers at the country’s defense science lab are struggling to adapt the complex, spicy national cuisine into something that will work in space. “Curry tends to be spicy, high in fat...

2 Teachers Make Mission's Final Walk

(Newser) - Two astronauts who were teaching math and science to middle school students just 5 years ago went on a spacewalk together today, their path cleared of dangerous orbiting junk that had threatened the space station and shuttle. It's the first time two former schoolteachers have been on a spacewalk together,...

Astros Fire Up Thrusters to Dodge Trash

Space junk becomes increasing concern

(Newser) - Discovery's astronauts fired thrusters yesterday to maneuver the million-pound International Space Station out of the path of approaching space junk, the third such threat to the orbiting lab in two weeks, reports Space.com. The four-inch chunk of debris—from a Chinese rocket that broke apart in 2000—was heading...

Astronauts Take 2nd Spacewalk

(Newser) - Astronauts took another spacewalk at the international space station today, this time to lighten the workload for future crews. As soon as they floated outside, Steven Swanson and Joseph Acaba made their way all the way to the end of the space station's power-grid framework. They loosened bolts holding down...

Space Station Panels Unfurled, Despite Threat of 'Stiction'

(Newser) - Astronauts on the International Space Station successfully unfurled the last of the craft’s solar panels today, despite the chronic problem of “stiction,” ABC reports. Stiction is, predictably, the engineering term for things sticking together. When panels have had trouble opening in the past, spacemen have resorted to...

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