Servicing Mission 4 Timeline: Non-Interactive, Full Text

2009

Servicing Mission 4

May 11-24, 2009

The Hubble Space Telescope was reborn with Servicing Mission 4 (SM4). The fifth and final serving mission left the observatory at the peak of its scientific capability, and prepared it for many years of further scientific discovery.

Servicing Mission 4 Patch

NASA

May 11, 2009 – Launch of Servicing Mission 4

At 2:01 p.m. ET, the Space Shuttle Atlantis launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida with seven astronauts aboard.

The shuttle at the top of the tower during launch with flames shooting out its main engines and solid rocket motors.

NASA

May 13, 2009 – Hubble Captured and Secured in the Cargo Bay

The crew used Atlantis's robotic arm to gently dock Hubble in the shuttle’s cargo bay so that the astronauts could work on the telescope.

A window on the space shuttle Atlantis frames Hubble. One of Hubble's solar panels and the shuttle's robotic arm are visible through the window, and a blue, cloud-covered Earth fills the background behind the telescope.

NASA

May 14, 2009 – First Spacewalk

Astronauts John Grunsfeld and Andrew Feustel replaced Hubble's Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 with Wide Field Camera 3, in addition to other repairs. A mechanism for a spacecraft or propulsion module to capture Hubble for de-orbit at the end of the telescope's life was also activated. The replacement Science Instrument Command and Data Handling System that coordinated instruments and formats the data for transmission to the ground was also installed.

One astronaut holds to a yellow handrail on the Hubble telescope while another, perched on the shuttle's robotic arm, examines a drill-like power tool.

NASA

May 15, 2009 – Second Spacewalk

Astronauts Michael Massimino and Michael Good removed and replaced all three of Hubble's gyroscope rate sensing units, along with the first of two battery unit modules.

An astronaut is partially obscured by the bulk of the space shuttle's robotic arm as he works on the innards of the Hubble telescope.

NASA

May 16, 2009 – Third Spacewalk

Astronauts John Grunsfeld and Andrew Feustel installed the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph, the most sensitive ultraviolet spectrograph ever planned to fly on Hubble, and also performed repairs to the Advanced Camera for Surveys.

One astronaut working on Hubble floats on his side, another is attached by his feet to the shuttle's robotic arm.

NASA

May 17, 2009 – Fourth Spacewalk

On the fourth spacewalk, astronauts Michael Massimino and Michael Good replaced an electronics card on the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph to restore it to operational status.

An astronaut is moved on the end of a shuttle robotic arm in the cargo bay with numerous tools attached while another works lower right. Hubble and the earth are in the background.

NASA

May 18, 2009 – Final Spacewalk

Astronauts Andrew Feustel and John Grunsfeld completed the final spacewalk to service Hubble. They made several repairs to the observatory, including the installation of the second battery module, a refurbished Fine Guidance Sensor, and New Outer Blanket Layers, which provide thermal protection to equipment bays whose thermal insulation had been degraded by space.