Shuttle Mission to Hubble Off to a Good Start

"Space Shuttle Launches to Save Hubble Telescope"
Space.com (May 11, 2009)

"The space shuttle Atlantis blasted off into a Florida sky Monday to kick off a long-awaited mission to save the Hubble Space Telescope.

"Atlantis thundered into space at 2:01 p.m. (1801 GMT) from a seaside launch pad here at NASA's Kennedy Space Center and began its risky mission to overhaul the 19-year-old Hubble for the last time.

"It is the first time in seven years that astronauts are returning to Hubble. The mission, NASA's last flight to the iconic space telescope, has been delayed since a part broke on the telescope last year and the servicing and upgrade plan had to be revised...."

It's a pretty good overview of the current Shuttle mission: and what's going on with Hubble.

This doesn't relate to the article: but I've wondered how, and whether, American institutions are going to keep working in low Earth orbit, after the (aging) Shuttle fleet is decommissioned. I suppose we can hope that outfits like Virgin Galactic will have heavy-lift freighters and spaceliners ready by the time the last of the existing shuttle fleet makes its last flight.

Related posts:

• "Doing Something for a Much Larger Reason"
  (December 22, 2008)
• "Spaceport America: Still Open for Business"
  (November 6, 2008)