Tethered to the end of the remote manipulator system arm, which was controlled from inside Atlantis' crew cabin, STS-125 astronaut Andrew Feustel navigates near the Hubble Space Telescope, duing the mission's third spacewalk on May 16, 2009. Astronaut John Grunsfeld signals to his crewmate from just a few feet away. Astronauts Feustel and Grunsfeld were continuing servicing work on the giant observatory, which was locked down in the cargo bay of shuttle Atlantis.

The shuttle has left the Space Telescope. There will probably be one more mission to the Hubble, an unmanned mission to de-orbit the satellite safely. One of the tasks on this mission was to install a docking collar for that sad eventuality.

In the meantime, we’re going to be treated to years of breathtaking views.

Beginning of the 2nd space walk

They’re outside right now on the second of five planned spacewalks. I’m keeping tabs on the video feed, which is pretty cool.

Murdoc’s been a huge critic of the Space Shuttle program and NASA in general, but I think the Hubble servicing missions are without a doubt the high point of post-Apollo NASA.

UPDATE: Came across this cool image taken before the launch. Notice the Endeavour on pad 39B.

NASA pilots Jack Nickel (in the jet with tail number 62) and Charles Justiz fly over for a bird's eye view of two shuttles on the launch pad. Shuttle Atlantis is in the foreground and Endeavour can be seen in the distance on the launch pad at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. The two are flying T-38 jet trainer aircraft. Image Credit: NASA/Robert Markowitz

Murdoc argued for a long time that one final servicing mission to the Space Telescope was important.

Atlantis and crew are on the pad waiting to go.

UPDATE: Liftoff.

Saving The Space Shuttle, Piece By Piece

With fewer than a dozen missions remaining before the scheduled retirement of the space shuttle next year, NASA has turned its attention to what should become of the orbiters, as well as the millions of shuttle spare parts that will be left over when the program ends. For the first time in nearly 40 years since the last transition from Apollo to shuttle, the agency is faced with deciding what should be saved as artifacts for posterity.

What Apollo was …. and wasn’t

Apollo was not about the Moon, or even about space. It took place in space and ultimately, on the Moon. But Apollo was a battle in the Cold War. John Kennedy did not say, “Go to the Moon and press onwards to the planets.” He challenged America to show the superiority of its economic and political system by landing a man on the Moon and returning him to Earth “before this decade is out.” The key objective was not going to the Moon – it was to beat the Soviets to the Moon. This objective was attained with profound consequences, critical to our Cold War victory to a degree still not fully appreciated.

Most space program observers acknowledge this distinction, but they have only accepted it intellectually, not emotionally.

See also: Apollo: An American Victory in the Cold War

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1986:

73 seconds in.

I was in the high school library playing chess. We had wanted to watch the lift-off, but the television wasn’t working. Some kid came in and told us, and after finally coming around to believing he wasn’t pulling our leg about the space shuttle blowing up, I asked him if it pulled into pieces, dove out of control, or just exploded in a huge fireball. “Fireball,” he said. I responded that it must have been the ET somehow managing to explode. It was not really a full-on “explosion,” but that’s sure what it looked like at first.

That afternoon, before going out on a run in the cold, cold Minnesota countryside, I cried during President Reagan’s speech.

We’ll try this again. The previous attempt posted despite only one item, and I pulled it. Not sure if this is going to be a regular weekly feature or not, but I’ve really been ignoring a lot of space-related issues and stories. So here are a few.

NASA gives space cargo contracts to start-up firms

NASA, rejecting aerospace giants Lockheed and Boeing, awarded $3.5 billion (2.37 billion pounds) in contracts to start-up companies on Tuesday to deliver cargo to the International Space Station after the U.S. space shuttles are retired.

Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX), a Hawthorne, California-based company headed by PayPal founder Elon Musk, and Dulles, Virginia-based Orbital Sciences Corp are due to start cargo shipments to and from the space station beginning in 2010.

I think this is huge news and a great move. In fact, it’s so good and so welcome that I fear it’s untrue. Can the Russian Progress and the European ATV not keep up with demand? They’ve got to be fuming over this decision. (via Instapundit)

Jupiter Direct and Ares compared. PM image.

NASA Renegades Pitch Obama Team New Post-Shuttle Plan

During a morning meeting at NASA headquarters in Washington D.C. with Obama administration transition team members, a handful of advocates today pitched an idea to scrap NASA’s existing post-shuttle plan.

Instead, they want to create a different launch vehicle from space shuttle parts that could reach the International Space Station and, eventually, be used for a return to the moon. According to the current plan, NASA’s launchers are slated to fly in 2015, five years after the shuttle is retired. The alternative plan, called Jupiter Direct, promises to trim that date by two years and tens of millions of dollars.

Jupiter Direct has not died. I keep saying the only thing worse than keeping the Shuttle flying too long would be to stop flying it too soon.

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Astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper (out of frame) continued the process of removing debris and applying lubrication around the starboard Solar Alpha Rotary Joint (SARJ), replaced four more of the SARJ's 12 trundle bearing assemblies, relocated two equipment carts and applied lubrication to the station's robotic Canadarm2 during the STS-126 mission's second spacewalk. Image Credit: NASA

Murdoc continues to slack off in the space blogging department.

Though I’m not a strong supporter of the ISS and a bit critical of the Shuttle, it is fascinating watching the station construction progress.

Ares I and launch tower

Is NASA’s Ares doomed?

First was the discovery that it lacked sufficient power to lift astronauts in a state-of-the-art capsule into orbit. Then engineers found out that it might vibrate like a giant tuning fork, shaking its crew to death.

Now, in the latest setback to the Ares I, computer models show the ship could crash into its launch tower during liftoff.

Murdoc’s no rocket scientist, but he’s never been convinced that the SRB-based pogostick made sense.

The Space Shuttle is an albatross around the neck of American manned space flight.

I’ve had a number of discussions with those who are convinced that the Apollo moon landings were hoaxes over the past few years, and I’ve got to say that I’m unimpressed. And, after looking into the claims of the “experts” who are selling this story, I’m even less impressed.

To be honest, the 9/11 conspiracy theorists seem to be a lot more credible and have a lot more genuine supporting evidence than the moon landing hoax backers.

All that said, I am also not overly impressed with Mythbusters. It’s certainly entertaining, and it’s not devoid of science and investigation. But it’s basically a bunch of guys trying stuff. Cool, but I don’t usually put a whole lot of stock into their conclusions.

Still, I will check out this episode if I get a chance. It airs on August 27th.