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Spacewalkers Wrap Up Tricky Hubble Job

By the Associated Press

Posted May 15, 2009 11:01 PM CDT

(AP) – Spacewalking astronauts had to put a refurbished pair of gyroscopes into the Hubble Space Telescope after a brand new set refused to go in yesterday, but scientists were satisfied nonetheless and confident the observatory would point precisely to more distant objects in the cosmos. Replacing the gyroscopes was the top priority of the repair mission, and the struggle had NASA on edge for 2 hours.

Thanks to the spacewalkers' effort, Hubble ended up with four brand new gyroscopes and two refurbished ones. It was the second spacewalk in as many days for the Atlantis astronauts, who once again were bedeviled by problems. Yesterday's spacewalk was one of the longest ever, lasting nearly 8 hours, and Mission Control told the weary crew members that they could sleep in and start today's spacewalk a little late.

In this image from NASA TV astronauts Mike Good, left and Mike Massimino work to upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope during a spacewalk, Friday, May 15, 2009. ((AP Photo/NASA TV))

In this image from NASA TV astronauts Mike Good, left, and Mike Massimino work to upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope during a spacewalk, Friday, May 15, 2009. ((AP Photo/NASA TV))

This Thursday, May 14, 2009 photo provided by NASA shows astronaut John Grunsfeld performing a spacewalk to work on the Hubble Space Telescope. ((AP Photo/NASA))

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Dark Matter Map Unveils Cosmic Mystery

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Astronaut Lovell sold it for $388K, but he may not own it

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They're 10 times the size of our solar system

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Though it'll be a looong time before you get into space

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OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

astronauts • shuttle • Hubble Space Telescope

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

[ By Comments ]

More Newser Stories

Dark Matter Map Unveils Cosmic Mystery

Data from Hubble telescope reaches back billions of years

NASA Puts Sale of Apollo 13 Checklist on Hold

Astronaut Lovell sold it for $388K, but he may not own it

World's Biggest Plane to Rocket People into Space

Paul Allen project might be ready for tests in 2016

Vast New Black Holes Shatter Record

They're 10 times the size of our solar system

NASA Puts Out Call for Astronauts

Though it'll be a looong time before you get into space

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Newser By Users

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