STS-125 Set To Lift Off In September 2008

NASA managers announced this week the space agency is officially targeting September 10, 2008 for the launch of STS-125, the fifth and final space shuttle servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope. During the 11-day flight, Atlantis' seven astronauts will repair and improve the observatory's capabilities through 2013.

Mission planners have been working since last fall, when the flight was announced, to determine the best time in the shuttle manifest to support the needs of Hubble while minimizing the impact to International Space Station assembly.

As ANN reported last year, NASA reversed an earlier decision by former NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe that, in the wake of the 2003 loss of Columbia, a mission to the telescope would be too risky.

To address concerns that no "lifeboat" option would be available in the event of a calamity onboard Atlantis -- as Hubble's orbit is too high for the shuttle to reach the International Space Station -- NASA also will support a "launch on need" flight during the Hubble mission. In the event a rescue flight becomes necessary, shuttle Endeavour currently is planned to lift off from Launch Pad 39-B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, FL.

What it would do from there, however, is still up in the air. Managers will continue to evaluate the manifest to determine the best mission options, according to the agency.

Shuttle missions beyond the Hubble flight still are being assessed. Shuttle and station program officials will continue to consider options for the remainder of the shuttle flights to complete construction of the space station by 2010, when the fleet will be retired.

FMI: View NASA's Launch Manifest, www.nasa.gov/hubble