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Monday, December 27, 1999

Shuttle crew prepares for return

NASA declares eight-day mission to repair telescope a success

By Mike Schneider
Associated Press
 

   CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The crew of space shuttle Discovery packed up its tools Sunday and prepared to return home after an eight-day mission of repairs to the Hubble Space Telescope that NASA declared a success.
   Discovery was scheduled to land at Kennedy Space Center at 4:41 p.m. CST today.
   The mission was cut short by launch delays, presented several challenging repairs and had one of four scheduled spacewalks canceled.
   But four Discovery astronauts managed to install almost $70 million worth of equipment, including a computer 20 times faster than its old one, new gyroscopes, batteries with voltage regulators to prevent overheating, a new guidance unit, data recorder and radio transmitter, and steel sun shades to protect Hubble from solar damage.
   The $3 billion space observatory stopped working Nov. 13 following a series of gyroscope breakdowns. Without enough functioning gyroscopes, the telescope could not hold steady while focusing on stars, galaxies and other cosmic targets.
   The first of the astronauts' three eight-hour spacewalks was full of nuisances: stubborn bolts, two gyroscopes that didn't fit easily and difficulty closing the door to some gyroscopes.
   A record nine launch delays forced NASA to cut two days off the mission.
  
  

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