Spacewalking Astronauts Fix Hubble Gyroscopes

(AP) - The Atlantis astronauts have captured the Hubble Space Telescope, grabbing the orbiting observatory early this afternoon for the first time since 2002. Astronaut Megan McArthur caught the school bus-sized telescope with the space shuttle's robot arm. The crew now faces five days of treacherous telescope repairs to the 19-year-old Hubble. More»

The final mission to repair the telescope will finish Tuesday

(AP) - Spacewalking astronauts ventured out today to finish repairs on the Hubble Space Telescope, never to be touched by human hands again. It was the fifth and final spacewalk for the crew of the shuttle Atlantis, and the final planned visit by astronauts, ever, to Hubble. The astronauts outfitted Hubble with two state-of-the-art science instruments totaling $220 million that should allow the telescope to peer as far back as 13 billion years. More»

(NEWSER) - The Hubble space telescope got some improved vision today in the form of a new camera. Two Atlantis astronauts completed a seven-hour spacewalk to give the 19-year-old telescope a much-needed upgrade, Space.com reports. "Woo-hoo, it's moving out," said astronaut Andrew Feustel after the old camera refused to budge at first. The spacewalk is the first of five planned over the shuttle's 11-day mission to service Hubble. More»

Four astronauts close out program with Atlantis' final flight

(NEWSER) - They are the envy of America's space program: Christopher Ferguson, Douglas Hurley, Rex Walheim, and Sandra Magnus will zip into space on Friday aboard NASA's 135th and final shuttle mission. The smallest crew since 1983 amounts to an afterthought: They were initially groomed as a rescue mission in case of trouble with Endeavour's final flight, reports the AP. NASA decided to go ahead with the mission and stock the space station for a year, but the astronauts run the risk of being stranded in space—in the event of damage to Atlantis there are no more shuttles to rescue them, and getting home via Soyuz could take up to a year. More»

Astronauts complete final spacewalk

(NEWSER) - Astronauts from the space shuttle Atlantis finished the final spacewalk of their mission at the International Space Station today, clearing the way for their return Wednesday. Astronauts Robert Satcher and Randy Bresnik installed a science experiment that will test how materials, including a new kind of Teflon, hold up to the rigors of space. The pair also installed an oxygen tank on the station’s Quest airlock, Space.com reports. More»