WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:31.000 (Music) 00:00:31.000 --> 00:00:33.000 Damon Talley/NASA's Digital Learning Network Coordinator: Welcome to NASA's L-1 Webcast, previewing the final space 00:00:33.000 --> 00:00:36.000 shuttle mission to the Hubble Space Telescope. 00:00:36.000 --> 00:00:41.000 I'm Damon Talley of NASA's Digital Learning Network here at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. 00:00:41.000 --> 00:00:46.000 The Hubble Space Telescope has opened our eyes to the universe in stunning and magnificent ways. 00:00:46.000 --> 00:00:50.000 Hubble has a unique advantage over the observatories built on the highest peaks on 00:00:50.000 --> 00:00:53.000 Earth: it doesn't have to look through the atmosphere. 00:00:53.000 --> 00:00:59.000 That means it sees galaxies, planets and the birth of stars just as they happened with no distortion. 00:00:59.000 --> 00:01:03.000 Atlantis and its crew of seven plan to take that view of space and make it even better. 00:01:03.000 --> 00:01:08.000 Coming up, we'll show you how the STS-125 astronauts are going to upgrade the telescope. 00:01:08.000 --> 00:01:11.000 Later, we'll examine imagery in art and culture. 00:01:11.000 --> 00:01:17.000 Plus, Dr. Mario Livio of the Space Telescope Science Institute will answer some questions 00:01:17.000 --> 00:01:20.000 about Hubble and its impact on science around the world. 00:01:20.000 --> 00:01:27.000 But first, we begin with correspondent Rebecca Sprague with a closer look at this amazing telescope. Hi Rebecca! 00:01:27.000 --> 00:01:28.000 Rebecca Sprague/NASA Public Affairs Correspondent: Hi, Damon. 00:01:28.000 --> 00:01:32.000 As you mentioned, there is certainly more than meets the eye when it comes to Hubble. 00:01:32.000 --> 00:01:36.000 We're here at the Hubble exhibit at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. 00:01:36.000 --> 00:01:40.000 We thought it would be the best place to talk about NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. 00:01:40.000 --> 00:01:45.000 The display is a stunning showcase of the telescope's discoveries and accomplishments. 00:01:45.000 --> 00:01:50.000 Now, almost 20 years after Hubble first began to unlock the secrets of the universe, 00:01:50.000 --> 00:01:58.000 seven astronauts are ready again to fly high above Earth and add years to the life of the most successful telescope ever built. 00:01:58.000 --> 00:02:05.000 After launching from NASA's Kennedy Space Center, space shuttle Discovery released Hubble into orbit in 1990. 00:02:05.000 --> 00:02:11.000 From its perch high above Earth, Hubble can collect light that has not been distorted by the atmosphere. 00:02:11.000 --> 00:02:18.000 That means clearer images of events that happened billions of years ago, such as the formation of earliest galaxies. 00:02:18.000 --> 00:02:22.000 And unlike other observatories in space, Hubble was built to be repaired by astronauts. 00:02:22.000 --> 00:02:28.000 In fact, much of the work astronauts perform on Hubble would not have been possible if designers had not built the 00:02:28.000 --> 00:02:34.000 telescope with modules that could be replaced relatively easy be astronauts working in weightlessness, 00:02:34.000 --> 00:02:39.000 and wearing bulky gloves and spacesuits. The concept was put to the test when 00:02:39.000 --> 00:02:43.000 astronauts first flew to the Hubble Space Telescope in 1993. 00:02:43.000 --> 00:02:46.000 Essentially adding a set of glasses to the telescope, they cleared up the 00:02:46.000 --> 00:02:53.000 observatories blurred vision with a high-tech instrument that compensated for a flawed main mirror. Since then, 00:02:53.000 --> 00:02:58.000 three other crews brought more instruments and upgraded equipment to the telescope. 00:02:58.000 --> 00:03:03.000 Each mission extended its life or added to its extraordinary vision. 00:03:03.000 --> 00:03:11.000 Now it's STS-125's turn to upgrade the observatory. As you may recall, Atlantis was ready to fly this mission in October 2008. 00:03:11.000 --> 00:03:16.000 It was poised on the launch pad when a critical module already in the Hubble gave out. 00:03:16.000 --> 00:03:23.000 The unit does several important tasks, including storing the data Hubble records and then transmitting it to Earth. 00:03:23.000 --> 00:03:30.000 When Hubble was switched to a backup control unit in space, engineers on Earth readied a spare unit to replace it. 00:03:30.000 --> 00:03:37.000 After extensive testing, the unit was shipped to Kennedy recently where technicians packed it for loading into the shuttle. 00:03:37.000 --> 00:03:43.000 The astronauts, meanwhile, adapted their plans and added the control unit to their already crowded to-do list. 00:03:43.000 --> 00:03:49.000 For a closer look at how the astronauts will make the upgrades, we'll send it back over to you, Damon. 00:03:49.000 --> 00:03:51.000 Damon Talley/NASA's Digital Learning Network Coordinator: Thanks, Rebecca. It will take five spacewalks, 00:03:51.000 --> 00:03:54.000 each about six and a half hours long, to install new instruments, 00:03:54.000 --> 00:03:58.000 guidance equipment and that control unit during the 11-day flight. 00:03:58.000 --> 00:04:02.000 This is how the spacewalkers will upgrade Hubble during the mission. 00:04:02.000 --> 00:04:07.000 It will take about two days for Atlantis to catch up to Hubble and capture it using the shuttle's robotic arm. 00:04:07.000 --> 00:04:14.000 Then, working in teams of two, one spacewalker will stand on a platform at the end of the robotic arm. 00:04:14.000 --> 00:04:21.000 He will hold the large instruments while an astronaut inside the shuttle's cabin moves him around the telescope into place. 00:04:21.000 --> 00:04:27.000 There is little room for error, especially with instruments as delicate as those of the Hubble. 00:04:27.000 --> 00:04:34.000 That's why the astronauts have practiced the exact procedures precisely since being assigned to the mission two years ago. 00:04:34.000 --> 00:04:38.000 With the new instruments, astronomers expect to see deeper into space than ever before. 00:04:38.000 --> 00:04:42.000 They expect to look closer at the atmospheres of planets outside our solar 00:04:42.000 --> 00:04:45.000 system, and maybe find more planets like them. 00:04:45.000 --> 00:04:50.000 And all the maintenance will keep Hubble going strong until at least 2014. Rebecca 00:04:50.000 --> 00:04:54.000 takes a closer look at what Hubble has given us already. 00:04:54.000 --> 00:04:57.000 Rebecca Sprague/NASA Public Affairs Correspondent: This is the Hubble Ultra Deep Field, perhaps the most famous 00:04:57.000 --> 00:05:00.000 photograph the observatory has taken. 00:05:00.000 --> 00:05:08.000 Astronomers pointed Hubble's powerful lens at an area of seemingly empty space and found thousands and thousands of galaxies, 00:05:08.000 --> 00:05:12.000 some as they were being formed more than 13 billion years ago. 00:05:12.000 --> 00:05:15.000 In cosmic terms, it's like a baby picture of space. 00:05:15.000 --> 00:05:21.000 In early 2008, Hubble recorded the first signs of methane on a planet outside our solar system. 00:05:21.000 --> 00:05:27.000 Methane plays a vital role in the chemical reactions that lead to the development of life. 00:05:27.000 --> 00:05:31.000 All those discoveries require a powerful lens and cameras, but they also require a 00:05:31.000 --> 00:05:36.000 spacecraft that will not move even slightly while floating in the vacuum of space. 00:05:36.000 --> 00:05:38.000 Here's Damon to show you how it works. 00:05:38.000 --> 00:05:41.000 Damon Talley/NASA's Digital Learning Network Coordinator: Thanks, Rebecca. Everything from pointing itself at a tiny piece 00:05:41.000 --> 00:05:48.000 of space to turning its lens away from the blinding light of the sun is controlled by a set of spinning wheels called gyroscopes. 00:05:48.000 --> 00:05:53.000 With them, Hubble can turn itself in all directions and, just as importantly, hold still. 00:05:53.000 --> 00:05:56.000 They work on the same principle as a bicycle wheel. 00:05:56.000 --> 00:06:04.000 At rest the bicycle wheel is easy to move from side to side and it will fall over if held up from one side. Spinning the wheel 00:06:04.000 --> 00:06:07.000 generates rotational inertia and it becomes difficult to move it from side to side. 00:06:07.000 --> 00:06:22.000 You can really feel the difference. Amazingly, the wheel stays up when held from one side. 00:06:22.000 --> 00:06:26.000 This why you stay upright as long as your bicycle or motorcycle is moving forward. 00:06:26.000 --> 00:06:33.000 This is also why a spinning top stays up. To demonstrate how Hubble uses the 00:06:33.000 --> 00:06:39.000 gyroscopic effect to turn itself in space, I'll stand on a reduced-friction surface. 00:06:39.000 --> 00:06:44.000 Now, a much safer way to try this at home is by sitting down in a swivel chair. 00:06:44.000 --> 00:06:49.000 Hubble uses electric power to spin its gyros and to turn them from side to side. 00:06:49.000 --> 00:06:52.000 One must apply a force to turn the wheel on its side. 00:06:52.000 --> 00:07:00.000 Newton's third law of motion action-reaction kicks in and spins you around. 00:07:00.000 --> 00:07:06.000 This is how Hubble can turn and lock on to objects in many different directions using gyroscopes. 00:07:06.000 --> 00:07:11.000 STS-125 will provide Hubble with six brand new gyroscopes. 00:07:11.000 --> 00:07:16.000 Although Hubble is renowned for numerous firsts, STS-125 will mark several lasts for the 00:07:16.000 --> 00:07:19.000 telescope and the space shuttle program. Right, Rebecca? 00:07:19.000 --> 00:07:22.000 Rebecca Sprague/NASA Public Affairs Correspondent: That's right! STS-125 marks the last 00:07:22.000 --> 00:07:26.000 time human eyes are scheduled to see the Hubble directly. 00:07:26.000 --> 00:07:32.000 It will be the last time hands will touch it before it is released to orbit on its own for several more years. 00:07:32.000 --> 00:07:37.000 After a distinguished career, it will eventually be decommissioned and remain in orbit high 00:07:37.000 --> 00:07:40.000 above Earth and out of the way of other spacecraft. 00:07:40.000 --> 00:07:47.000 Here at Kennedy, this mission marks the last time two orbiters are expected to be on the launch pad at the same time. 00:07:47.000 --> 00:07:54.000 The silhouette of space shuttle Endeavour moved toward Launch Pad 39B recently as the sun peered over the Atlantic Ocean. 00:07:54.000 --> 00:08:00.000 With Atlantis already at Launch Pad 39A, Endeavour completed the unusual scene of 00:08:00.000 --> 00:08:03.000 two space shuttles standing ready for launch. 00:08:03.000 --> 00:08:10.000 NASA took the extra precaution of preparing two shuttles for flight at the same time since Atlantis will not be able to seek 00:08:10.000 --> 00:08:14.000 safety at the International Space Station if something goes wrong during the mission. 00:08:14.000 --> 00:08:19.000 In that unlikely event, Endeavour would be launched on a rescue mission. 00:08:19.000 --> 00:08:24.000 It's a breathtaking scene, with a serious purpose. Damon. 00:08:24.000 --> 00:08:26.000 Damon Talley/NASA's Digital Learning Network Coordinator: Hubble's reach extends well beyond science and textbooks. 00:08:26.000 --> 00:08:31.000 Dr. Mario Livio of the Space Telescope Science Institute said that the cultural 00:08:31.000 --> 00:08:36.000 outreach may turn out to be the Hubble's most significant contribution. 00:08:36.000 --> 00:08:43.000 Dr. Mario Livio/Space Telescope Science Institute Senior Astrophysicist: On the cultural arena, Hubble is really quite unique in that 00:08:43.000 --> 00:08:53.000 Hubble images have crossed the boundary between science and culture and penetrated into areas such as art, literature and so on. 00:08:53.000 --> 00:08:58.000 Really has become, you know, the symbol of science exploration. 00:08:58.000 --> 00:09:00.000 Rebecca Sprague/NASA Public Affairs Correspondent: There are scores of instances of 00:09:00.000 --> 00:09:03.000 Hubble's crossover from science to culture. 00:09:03.000 --> 00:09:07.000 For example, a picture of one of the stardust stalks of the Eagle Nebula was printed as 00:09:07.000 --> 00:09:11.000 part of a series of stamps celebrating the telescope's achievements. 00:09:11.000 --> 00:09:19.000 The influential rock band Pearl Jam used a Hubble photo of a planetary nebula as the album cover for ?Binaural.? 00:09:19.000 --> 00:09:26.000 The telescope has been mentioned on notably unscientific shows, including Family Guy. And art museums are exhibiting 00:09:26.000 --> 00:09:32.000 Hubble images with reverence normally associated with Picasso, Monet or Cezanne. 00:09:32.000 --> 00:09:41.000 The exhibits hold up the universe not as a set of data points to be analyzed, but as artwork to be appreciated and marveled upon. 00:09:41.000 --> 00:09:47.000 It's just another way Hubble brought space down to Earth. That's it from here, back to you Damon. 00:09:47.000 --> 00:09:49.000 Damon Talley/NASA's Digital Learning Network Coordinator: Thanks Rebecca. 00:09:49.000 --> 00:09:51.000 The final mission to NASA's Hubble Space Telescope 00:09:51.000 --> 00:09:56.000 may be one of the most exciting that space shuttle astronauts have undertaken. You can follow the launch of Atlantis as it happens on 00:09:56.000 --> 00:10:06.000 NASA TV or at www.nasa.gov/shuttle. A launch blog will be available, along with updated photo and video galleries. 00:10:06.000 --> 00:10:09.000 You can stay up-to-date throughout the mission at NASA's Web site. 00:10:09.000 --> 00:10:14.000 I'll host a live webcast on the Digital Learning Network during the last hour of the countdown. 00:10:14.000 --> 00:10:21.000 That's our show looking ahead to Atlantis' STS-125 servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope. 00:10:21.000 --> 00:10:22.000 Thanks to Rebecca Sprague and 00:10:22.000 --> 00:10:29.000 Dr. Mario Livio for helping us out. And thanks to you for watching. For NASA, I'm Damon Talley. 00:10:29.000 --> 00:10:38.000