Astronaut F. Story Musgrave works in the space shuttle bus Endeavours cargo bay while the solar array panels on the Hubble Space Telescope are deployed throughout the final Servicing Mission 1 spacewalk. Credit: NASA
The 1993 area shuttle Endeavour objective effectively fixed the Hubble Space Telescope, remedying its flawed vision and marking a substantial accomplishment for NASA. This objective showed the expediency of elaborate space repairs and had long lasting effect on future space expedition.
In the pre-dawn hours on December 2, 1993, the space shuttle bus Endeavour launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on a critical mission to fix NASAs Hubble Space Telescope.
Hubble was developed to be serviced in area with parts that astronauts can slide in and out of place. However prior to launch, no one expected the first servicing mission to be of such urgency.
In the back row are the spacewalkers on this flight: F. Story Musgrave, payload commander; Jeffrey A. Hoffman, mission specialist; Kathryn D. Thornton, mission specialist; and Thomas D. Akers, mission specialist. At 1 a.m. on December 18, 1993, about a week after the mission had ended, astronomers collected around computers at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore to witness the very first brand-new image from the telescope: a star, shining beautiful and clear in the image without the hazy effects of Hubbles problematic mirror. The lessons learned from training for Hubble and from the servicing work itself would be constructed upon for other astronaut objectives, including the 4 subsequent maintenance visits to Hubble in between 1997-2009. These extra missions to Hubble would make it possible for the setup of brand-new, innovative instruments, repair of existing science instruments, and the replacement of essential hardware, keeping Hubble at the forefront of astrophysics exploration.
Entrance sooner or later,” stated Kenneth Bowersox, associate administrator for NASAs Space Operations Mission Directorate, who was also an astronaut on Servicing Mission 1.
For three years, Hubble had been the punchline of late-night comics and editorial animations: the telescope that could not see straight. Since its deployment in 1990, the telescope had been beaming blurred images back to Earth, the outcome of a defect in the shape of its primary mirror. The mirror was off by only one-fiftieth the width of a human hair, the error had terrible effects: the light from the mirror didnt focus quite. While the images were still better than those drawn from Earth and science was still possible, their quality was not what the world anticipated.
” The sense that you got was everyone was taking a look at the maintenance and repair work of the Hubble Space Telescope as the mission that might show NASAs worth … There was this overarching focus and pressure on the success of this objective.”– Richard Covey, Servicing Mission 1 Astronaut
Servicing Mission 1 was the option. Aboard the shuttle were the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) and Corrective Optics Space Telescope Axial Replacement (COSTAR), along with other critical parts to update the telescope. WFPC2, accountable for the telescopes aesthetically impactful images, had built-in restorative optics to make up for the mirror defect and would change the Wide Field/Planetary Camera that Hubble launched with. COSTAR was a refrigerator-sized element containing a constellation of mirrors, some just the size of a U.S. nickel, meant to fix and reroute light to the telescopes other video cameras and spectrographs.
Astronaut Kathryn C. Thornton grips a tool to perform servicing objective tasks on the Hubble Space Telescope during the fourth spacewalk of Servicing Mission 1. Credit: NASA
The shuttles crew of 7 astronauts was aware that not just Hubbles fate was on their shoulders, but the public perception of NASA and its space program.
” If the Hubble repair work is a failure, we can compose off space science for the foreseeable future,” John Bahcall, the late astrophysicist who promoted for the telescope and a member of its science working group, informed the New York Times in 1993.
Credit: NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center; Lead Producer: Grace Weikert
On December 2, 2023, NASA commemorates the 30th anniversary of Servicing Mission 1 and its success in transforming Hubble into one of NASAs biggest victories: a shining example of human resourcefulness in the face of hardship.
During among the most complex spacewalking objectives ever attempted, astronauts conducted five extravehicular activities, amounting to over 35 hours. They eliminated the High Speed Photometer instrument to add COSTAR and swapped out the initial Wide Field/Planetary Camera for the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2. They likewise installed other crucial parts to update the telescope.
In the front row from left to right are Swiss scientist Claude Nicollier, mission expert; Kenneth D. Bowersox, pilot; and Richard O. Covey, mission commander. In the back row are the spacewalkers on this flight: F. Story Musgrave, payload leader; Jeffrey A. Hoffman, mission specialist; Kathryn D. Thornton, mission professional; and Thomas D. Akers, mission specialist.
At 1 a.m. on December 18, 1993, about a week after the objective had ended, astronomers gathered around computers at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore to witness the very first brand-new image from the telescope: a star, shining clear and pristine in the image without the hazy effects of Hubbles problematic mirror. The new images were so dramatically different that although the telescope required around 13 weeks for adjustment to reach its full abilities, NASA launched them early. “Its repaired beyond our wildest expectations,” stated Ed Weiler, Hubble chief researcher throughout SM1, at a January 1994 press conference.
” The appearance on individualss faces as this picture showed up– this was an old [cathode ray] tube-type television. It took a while for it to develop up, however it got clearer and clearer and clearer. Everyone begins shouting.”– Ed Weiler, Hubble chief researcher during SM1
Pictures of spiral nebula M100 show the improvement in Hubbles vision in between Wide Field/Planetary Camera and its replacement instrument, the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2. Credit: NASA, STScI
Senator Barbara Mikulski of Maryland, who had actually promoted vigilantly for Hubble, was the first to show off the brand-new images to the public at the Jan. 13 interview. “Im happy to announce today that after its launch in 1990 and some of its earlier dissatisfactions, the difficulty with Hubble is over,” she stated.
Maintenance Mission 1 is best remembered for its resolution of Hubbles blurred vision, it accomplished a host of extra jobs that helped transform the telescope into the huge powerhouse it remains today.
Sen. Barbara Mikulski displays an image showing the distinction in between a star image taken before COSTARs installation and the very same star after Servicing Mission 1 during the Jan. 13, 1993 interview revealing the success of the mission. Credit: NASA
By the time Servicing Mission 1 released, the telescopes gyroscopes– fragile pieces of equipment needed to point and steer Hubble– were already breaking down. The other three– usually kept as backups– were in operation, the minimum number required to keep Hubble collecting science data.
Early in Hubbles time in orbit, NASA found that the telescopes solar ranges would expand and contract exceedingly in the rotating heat and cold of area as the telescope took a trip in and out of sunshine, triggering them to vibrate. This forced engineers to utilize Hubbles computing capacity to make up for the “jitter” and decreased observation time. Astronauts replaced Hubbles solar selections with new variations that brought the natural jitter down to acceptable levels.
Astronauts also performed an augmentation whose important value would end up being clear a year later on: updating Hubbles flight computer with a co-processor and associated memory. Simply weeks before the breaking down comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 collided with Jupiter in 1994, Hubble went into a protective “safe mode” due to a memory system issue in the main computer. Engineers had the ability to use that co-processors memory to fix the issue, capturing sensational images of the gas giant being pounded by comet fragments.
In July 1994, the Hubble Space Telescope was poised to utilize its recently repaired optics to observe among the most outstanding huge occasions of the century– the 21 pieces of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 affecting Jupiter. These observations almost didnt occur. Credit: NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center
The lessons found out from training for Hubble and from the servicing work itself would be built upon for other astronaut missions, including the four subsequent servicing visits to Hubble between 1997-2009. These extra missions to Hubble would enable the setup of new, innovative instruments, repair work of existing science instruments, and the replacement of key hardware, keeping Hubble at the leading edge of astrophysics exploration.
Further, the lessons learned from Servicing Mission 1 were an assisting force for work on the International Space Station, and for objectives yet to take place. Entrance at some point,” stated Kenneth Bowersox, associate administrator for NASAs Space Operations Mission Directorate, who was also an astronaut on Servicing Mission 1. “And itll use to things we do on the Moon and in deep space, going to Mars and beyond.
To celebrate Servicing Mission 1, NASA is releasing a series of videos over the next two weeks including key gamers– astronauts, scientists, engineers, and more– as they assess the battles and accomplishments of that time, in addition to the individual and psychological impact that Hubble and SM1 had on their lives.
