Space shuttle Atlantis astronauts John Grunsfeld and Andrew Feustel have successfully installed a new camera to the Hubble Telescope during the first of five planned spacewalks of the STS-125 mission. Grunsfeld and Feustel reported some early difficulty with the A-latch bolt while trying to release the Wide Field Camera 2 from the Hubble telescope. Within the hour, astronauts reported that the latch bolt was finally all the way out and the WFPC 2 camera was free.
Astronauts temporarily stowed the WFPC 2 and successfully installed the Wide Field Camera 3 to the former location of the old camera on the telescope. The new Wide Field Camera 3 will enable Hubble to take massive, detailed pictures over a wide array of colors. The WFPC 2 will be carried back to Earth and put on display at the Smithsonian Institution.
Grunsfeld is now removing the new Science Instrument Command and Data Handling Unit from its carrier by releasing eight bolts, meanwhile Feustel is removing the old computer from the telescope by releasing 10 bolts . The computer is needed to send commands to Hubble’s science instruments and to format science data for transmission to the ground. Watch Part 2 on ENG!
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