Shuttle Mission STS-125 Preview
ESA TV Exchanges
On 31 October at 15:00 GMT, NASA Administrator Michael Griffin will announce whether NASA will launch a Shuttle, dubbed Flight STS-125, for a final Servicing Mission to the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope.
This Exchange includes background footage to cover the story from a European point-of-view.
The script will be online as a PDF file under http://television.esa.int/photos/EbS48446.pdf as of 15:00 GMT
A WMV preview file is online under http://esatv-movies.e-vision.nl/videos/mphi/ hubble_new_mission_30-10-06_wmphigh.wmv

New Hubble Servicing Mission to upgrade instruments
Script:
00:02 After more than a decade of fascinating discoveries, the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope will soon be given the new beginning that it deserves. Today, NASA has decided to launch a Space Shuttle mission in 2008 to repair and even upgrade the observatory, despite new Shuttle safety rules formulated after the Columbia disaster that would normally rule out such a rescue mission.
00:24 Since Columbia, the Shuttle has been launched on three missions, confirming that the numerous improvements since the disaster have established a high level of safety for the vehicle and its crew. After weighing the pros and cons, and bearing in mind that Hubbleís orbit does not allow the Shuttle crew to take refuge aboard the International Space Station and wait for rescue if the Space Shuttle is damaged at launch, NASA Administrator Mike Griffin has now given the green light for a fifth Hubble Servicing Mission.
Hubble in outer space, Pr