The last maintenance mission for the Hubble telescope and the first for both remaining shuttles being launch ready.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ty0RcwDkbUc&feature=dir (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ty0RcwDkbUc&feature=dir)
I find it somewhat odd that there is a backup/rescue plan this time ........for a telescope. ???
sparks
Whenever I read about anything NASA does I always hear cash register bells. About the same thing whenever I hear a politician speak. Ka-Ching.
In the aftermath of the Columbia disaster of 2003, when seven astronauts were killed as a shuttle disintegrated on re-entry to Earth's atmosphere, Nasa imposed a blanket ban on this sort of mission. Hubble is a difficult satellite to reach, approached via an orbit that makes it impossible for the astronauts to escape to the International Space Station should they need to. The risks, Nasa announced, were simply too great: Hubble would be left to decay in peace.
Nasa space shuttle Atlantis blasts off to service Hubble telescope
Hubble to get upgrade in risky shuttle mission
NASA set for shuttle launch to help Hubble telescope
Shuttle Discovery docks with ISSHowever, after relentless pressure from the scientific community, the space agency was persuaded to take the risk – although it has taken the precaution of having a second space shuttle on stand by at Cape Canaveral, ready for a possible rescue. It will be the 126th mission in the shuttle programme, and the 30th flight of Atlantis, whose seven astronauts will carry out five spacewalks during the 11-day trip.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/scienceandtechnology/science/space/5309733/Why-the-mission-to-the-Hubble-Space-Telescope-is-worth-the-risk.html