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Last Tweaks Will Rocket Hubble to Final Frontier

$10b telescope snapped many of space's mysteries

By Ambreen Ali, Newser User

Posted May 11, 2009 2:27 AM CDT

(Newser) – Today's launch of the Atlantis shuttle marks the beginning of the end for Hubble. The space telescope is scheduled to get its final set of repairs, extending its life and giving it greater abilities than ever before. "Everything we have done up to this point has been in preparation for the final five years," a NASA scientist tells the Orlando Sentinel.

Hubble will receive fresh batteries, a stronger camera, and a docking port that future spacecraft can use to move it when it's retired. NASA then expects to launch the James Webb Space Telescope a million miles from Earth. Its larger main mirror will make it better equipped to peer through gas and dust clouds, taking astronomers even closer to the final frontier.

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The sun sets on the space shuttle Atlantis Sunday. Its crew will make five orchestrated spacewalks to give Hubble its final renovation. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

This 2008 image of a remnant from a supernova or star explosion is an example of the space events Hubble has captured over the years. (AP Photo/NASA)

The Hubble Space Telescope is pictured in 1997, following its release from the space shuttle Discovery after astronauts made fixes. (AP Photo/NASA, File)

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I think we are a few years or even a decade ahead of where we would be if we didn't have Hubble.
- Paul Kalas, astronomer

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Last Tweaks Will Rocket Hubble to Final Frontier