Good progress on the first four days of Hubble Servicing
The Atlantis servicing mission to Hubble has really highlighted some uses of social media: the NASA twitter channel has provided near live and accurate updates, providing key points and pointers as things happen - first actual interesting use of twitter I have seen;
facebook has also provided interesting information, mainly celebratory wall scribbles from instrument team members.
So, four spacewalks are done, just in case you missed it all:
The old WF/PC2 camera has been removed and replaced with the brand new WFC3 all purpose camera, WFC3 signaled it was alive.
SIC&DH replaced. Grapple point attached for possible de-orbit.
The Rate Sensor Units on the gyros have been replaced; two of the new ones didn't fit and were yanked and replaced with refurbished units.
Batteries have been replaced.
Cosmic Origins Spectrograph - new high throughput single aperture, blue optmized spectrograph - has been installed in the COSTAR bay, where the High Speed Photometer originally resided. COS signaled it was alive.
Advanced Camera For Surveys electronics were repaired, the Wide Field Camera is signaling it is alive, which is very welcome news - it is in my opinion the best instruments on Hubble; the High Resolution Camera apparently is not working; the Solar Blind Channel was working before and seems to be still working.
FGS replacement and blankets still to be done.
We'll also find out if the electronics fix will permit NICMOS to operate.
NICMOS has some interesting and unique capabilties despite its age and would be nice to have back.
Expect science operations in three months or so, IIRC, with a LOT of spectrography (boo!) in the next cycle or two.
We can expect Hubble to continue providing good science for several years now.
Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph is repaired and signaled it is alive.
This was hard, and required improvisation, installation of some thermal/micrometeorite blankets was delayed.
Four instances of improvisation by humans on the scene: the change in RSUs, two instances of bolts or screws stripped needing a bit of nudging and the handrail blocking the STIS panel that they broke off... I liked that.
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