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Written by Web Master
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Space shuttle Atlantis landed at Edwards Air Force Base in California at 4:39 p.m. BST, completing a 13-day journey of approximately 5.3 million miles in space.
During a press conference held at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Associate Administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate Ed Weiler said, "Now, and only now can we declare this mission a total success -- the astronauts are safely on the ground."
Weiler called NASA's Hubble Space Telescope the great comeback story. He said the public continues to be captivated by the telescope's images of the universe and he hopes to see Hubble operate into its third decade of service.
NASA Launch Integration Manager Mike Moses agreed that this was a fantastic mission. "It's good to have Atlantis back here on the ground," said Moses. He also said the crew did a great job trying to get the shuttle back to Kennedy, even though the weather wouldn't cooperate.
Mike Leinbach, NASA space shuttle launch director, congratulated the STS-125 crew and also commended the crew members who were ready and standing by in case space shuttle Endeavour was needed for a rescue mission.
He also said NASA still is targeting June 13 for Endeavour's mission to the International Space Station.
Landed:
Sunday, May 24, 2009, 11:39 a.m. EDT
Landing Site:
Edwards Air Force Base
Mission Elapsed Time:
12 days, 21 hours, 37 minutes, 9 seconds
Official Landing Times
Main gear touchdown:
11:39:05 a.m. EDT
Nose gear touchdown:
11:39:15 a.m. EDT
Wheels stop:
11:40:15 a.m. EDT
Total miles:
5.276 million
View Live Nasa TV
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Last Updated ( Monday, 25 May 2009 )
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Written by Admin
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 It's a mission to once more push the boundaries of how deep in space and far back in time humanity can see. It's a flight to again upgrade what already may be the most significant satellite ever launched.
And, for the space shuttle, it's a final visit to a dear, old friend.
The STS-125 mission will return the space shuttle to the Hubble Space Telescope for one last visit before the shuttle fleet retires in 2010. Over 11 days and five spacewalks, the shuttle Atlantis’ crew will make repairs and upgrades to the telescope, leaving it better than ever and ready for another five years – or more – of research.
The shuttle Discovery launched Hubble in 1990, and released it into an orbit 304 nautical miles above the Earth. Since then it’s circled Earth more than 97,000 times and provided more than 4,000 astronomers access to the stars not possible from inside Earth’s atmosphere. Hubble has helped answer some of science’s key questions and provided images that have awed and inspired the world.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 11 May 2009 )
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Atlantis lands safely at Edwards Air Force Base.
Atlantis roars from KSC on it's way to Hubble.
Last Mission to Hubble
