Astronauts Take Final Hubble Spacewalk

Spacewalk is second of five planned

(AP) - Astronauts from the shuttle Atlantis headed out for another spacewalk today, this time to give the Hubble telescope some new gyroscopes and batteries. The gyroscopes—a top priority—are part of the telescope pointing system, and half of the old ones are broken. The two space walkers ventured out as the shuttle and telescope sailed 350 miles above the Atlantic Ocean. "It is a beautiful day outside," one said. More»

(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»

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»

Spacewalk becomes sixth longest in history

(NEWSER) - Yesterday was a frustratingly long day in space as Atlantis astronauts struggled to fix a long-broken spectrograph on the Hubble Space Telescope. They ultimately succeeded, but a stuck bolt and dead battery prolonged the spacewalk to 8 hours—making it the sixth longest in history, Space.com reports. Astronauts also ran out of time to insulate Hubble, but may attempt to do so on today's fifth and final spacewalk. More»

Oft-delayed mission set to launch tomorrow

(NEWSER) - NASA has declared space shuttle Atlantis' crew fit to fly, and weather permitting, the much-delayed 11-day mission to fix the Hubble Space Telescope will take off tomorrow, reports Space.com. Endeavour is standing by just in case Atlantis itself needs rescuing. The mission includes five spacewalks and lots of tinkering with Hubble, in hopes of extending the 19-year-old satellite's life to 2014. More»