Destiny In Space Page #3

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For the present, we must use

telescopes to explore the stars.

Now, we are about to

launch into space ...

an instrument that will allow us to look

to the farthest reaches of the universe ...

and back in time almost to its birth.

One more foot.

This is the Hubble Space Telescope.

Keep coming.

Once in orbit above the

shimmer of Earth's atmosphere ...

it will see 10 times farther

than telescopes on the ground.

And down.

Astronauts Kathy Sullivan,

Loren Shriver and Bruce McCandless ...

have come here to the Lockheed

Vehicle Assembly facility ...

for a final inspection.

That's the socket in the MLI

that you put the pre-load tool in ...

once you've got the door open ...

and just crank it over center

so it'll stay open.

Hello, hello, hello. Howdy.

Morning.

Family and friends gather for the

launch at the Kennedy Space Center.

Among them is Dr. Lyman Spitzer ...

who first proposed the idea

for a space telescope in 1946.

This is a tremendous

milestone today for me.

Very exciting, very exciting.

I suggested a telescope of this general

nature would be very helpful to astronomy.

And the idea finally took

hold among astronomers ...

and then among other people

and finally, even in Congress.

And off it goes.

T-minus 10, go for main engine start.

We are go for main engine start.

Five, four, three, two, one ....

And lift-off of the

space shuttle Discovery.

Once Hubble is deployed ...

astronomers on the ground

will be able to direct its eye ...

to any region of the universe

they wish to observe.

- Give you a payload ID of one.

- Discovery, we'd like you to go free drift.

While pilot Charlie Bolden, on the left,

maintains the shuttle's precise position ...

astronomer Steve Hawley

prepares to perform the deployment.

Discovery, go for Hubble release.

Hawley releases the telescope.

Then, very slowly and carefully ...

retracts the arm.

The sky and sea of Earth,

reflected in its door ...

the Hubble Space Telescope ...

the creation of 10,000 people,

is launched at last.

It will remain here for many years,

sending images back to Earth.

Shuttle crews will visit Hubble

on regular service calls ...

to replace and upgrade its parts.

Yeah, it looks good.

I don't see any

motion at all in there.

Hubble is open for business.

I wish you guys had been here to see

it, because you'll never believe it.

Well, superb is an understatement.

Residuals were at .02 and .01.

The telescope would reveal

objects in detail ...

never before seen.

But there was a problem:

A flaw was found in the shape

of the telescope's primary mirror.

A repair would be necessary.

As part of the

regular service call ...

another crew would make

the repairs three years later.

Endeavour, you've got

a go for capture.

First, the crew would have

to recapture the telescope.

Houston, Endeavour, the right-hand

solar array, as we can see it, is ....

One side of it is bent way over,

so clearly we have a dynamic situation.

There's a problem with one

of the solar panels ...

that provide electrical

power to the telescope.

Looks like the outer bi-stem

has a kink in it and is twisted ...

there at the kink.

Once the telescope is

secured in the cargo bay ...

the astronauts will move outside

for a closer inspection.

So begins the most ambitious

and difficult service mission ...

ever attempted.

Payload commander Story Musgrave

and astronomer Jeff Hoffman ...

are both veteran spacewalkers.

Story is not built

like the rest of us.

Most of us just float under the hut,

and Story has to screw himself in.

If you're a person that gets claustrophobia,

this is not the business you wanna get into.

They'll depressurize

here in the airlock ...

then go to work.

It had been planned that the

crew replace the solar panels ...

as part of the regular service.

But now, the twisted panel cannot

be safely stowed in the cargo bay.

They have no choice but

to throw it overboard.

Mission Specialist

Kathy Thornton will do it.

- Okay, they say you've got a

go for release. - Okay, no hands.

Such a large object floating in space

can pose a hazard to other spacecraft.

So bursts from the

shuttle jets are fired ...

directly at the solar panel

to make it spin.

The motion will speed up its descent

to the Earth's atmosphere ...

where it will burn up.

There it goes.

Almost like a bird. Look at it.

It's quite a sight.

Now, work on the

telescope can resume.

Okay, coming straight on up.

Looking real good. I'm gonna let go.

Okay, take me away.

Just come right up easy,

just like you're doing.

Bring the forward up a little more.

It's difficult to maneuver bodies

and equipment unassisted.

The repair of the telescope

would be almost impossible ...

without the help

of the shuttle's arm.

It is controlled from inside by

Swiss astronaut Claude Nicollier ...

while Ken Bowersox,

the pilot, acts as lookout.

Just keep coming up, Claude.

- Stop. Stop.

- Brake's on.

I'm not even pulling it, I'm just

coaxing it with my fingertips.

The new wide-field planetary camera

will tell us more about the size ...

of the universe and how

rapidly it is expanding.

Here we go.

The crew lifts it

up with great care.

The tiniest bump could

damage its delicate parts.

The astronaut teams

alternate each day ...

spending up to six hours

in the cold vacuum outside.

Okay, I'm gonna slip over. You've

got another foot to keep coming up.

Keep coming up.

Coming up. Coming up.

All of their tools must be

tethered to the workstation ...

to keep them from floating

off into space.

Endeavour, Houston for Story.

You've got a go to open the doors.

Okay. Swing it.

After five days of intensive work

and many dazzling accomplishments ...

the astronauts are now ready to install

the critical corrective-optics package.

It's a kind of contact lens ...

designed to bring Hubble's

giant eye into focus.

Pitch up a little.

If it succeeds ...

we will be able to look

back to the edge of time.

Good work, guys.

The service and repair

are now complete.

The mission drew upon

every skill we have learned ...

throughout three decades

of work in space.

Whether repairing a telescope,

assembling a space station ...

or building a base

on a distant planet ...

we must rely upon the teamwork

of humans and machines ...

if we are to succeed in this challenging

new environment away from Earth.

Endeavour, you've

got a go for release.

The Cape of Good Hope beneath it ...

the space telescope is now poised

to begin a new era of exploration.

One of the astonishing discoveries ...

is a first close look at an

enormous and very unstable star ...

we call Eta Carinae.

Four million times more

luminous than our Sun ...

its last outburst was seen in 1841.

And now Hubble reveals that it has

blown two massive clouds into space.

The clouds contain the heavy elements

essential for the creation of life.

Now, in the heart

of the Orion Nebula ...

Hubble reveals a stellar nursery.

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