October 31 - NASA engineers succeeded in restoring the Hubble Space Telescope's main camera to working order a month after a router failed to gather and format scientific data for transmission. The repaired camera produced a "perfect 10" photographic image showing the aftermath of galaxies colliding millions of light years away, officials said.
The much anticipated fifth and final service mission to Hubble has been postponed. NASA managers said they will not meet the February 2009 launch until engineer's complete "work needed to get a second data handling unit for the telescope ready to fly." That servicing mission is designed to allow the telescope to function until at least 2013. At that time, NASA plans to replace Hubble with the James Webb Space Telescope, which will offer views of more distant objects than Hubble is currently capable of seeing.
In 2005, the National Research Council recommended that NASA send a space shuttle mission to the Hubble Space Telescope to ensure continuation of the extraordinary scientific output of the telescope and to prepare for its eventual de-orbiting. Assessment of Options for Extending the Life of the Hubble Space Telescope: Final Report urged the agency to consider launching a mission as soon as possible because some of the telescope's components could degrade to the point where it could no longer perform science or be repaired.
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