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Credit & Copyright: STS-82 Crew,
NASA
Explanation:
How would you like to spend your holiday in low earth orbit?
That's what
the crew of the space shuttle Discovery is doing
as they deliver six new gyros and a faster main computer to the
orbiting
Hubble Space Telescope.
The telescope has been
holding in safe mode since November 13 and will
use the timely "gifts" to resume
its exploration of the distant Universe.
This mission, STS-103,
is the third mission to service the famous
space observatory which was placed in orbit by
Discovery on April 25, 1990.
Seen here in a 1997 picture from STS-82,
the second servicing mission,
the space telescope, flanked by its gold-colored solar panels,
hangs above the shuttle payload bay.
The Earth's bright limb is in the background.
Discovery closed with the Hubble on Tuesday and crew members are
conducting space walks
to install the new equipment.
Discovery is scheduled to return to Earth after Christmas,
with a December 27 landing at
Kennedy Space Center - but you can
e-mail season's greetings to the orbiting crew.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: HST - space shuttle
Publications with words: HST - space shuttle
See also: