The Hubble Space Telescope, a collaboration between NASA and the European Space Agency, is to get a new lease of life. The Shuttle Atlantis upcoming mission on May 11, STS-125, will be the final servicing flight to the observatory, the most productive and spectacular space telescope ever placed in orbit. Over the years, this mission almost failed to materialise and even last September had to be deferred at the last moment when Hubbles on board systems failed. Now back on the rails, the high-profile missions safety aspects will be followed closely by NASA and by astronomers in Europe and throughout the world.
This A & B-Roll details the mission objectives with an interview with former ESA astronaut Claude Nicollier who has twice taken part in such flights to maintain the Hubble Space Telescope. He describes the risks involved in this mission, training that is required, and his admiration for Hubble data and imagery and 3D animations of the mission operations on the Hubble telescope.