WIKIARCHIVES.SPACE

In this aerial view, the tail of the orbiter Discovery can be seen as it begins rolling out of the Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF) bay 1 (center left of photo). Behind it is the tow-way, which leads from the Shuttle Landing Facility past the OPF. In the foreground is the new road under construction as part of the Safe Haven project. And at right is the one of two crawlers used to move the Shuttles to the launch pad. Discovery is moving to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking with an external tank and solid rocket boosters before its launch on mission STS-103. The launch date is currently under review for early December. STS-103, the third Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission, is a "call-up" due to the need to replace portions of the pointing system, the gyros, which have begun to fail on the Hubble Space Telescope. Although Hubble is operating normally and conducting its scientific observations, only three of its six gyroscopes are working properly. The gyroscopes allow the telescope to point at stars, galaxies and planets. The STS-103 crew will also be replacing a Fine Guidance Sensor and an older computer with a new enhanced model, an older data tape recorder with a solid-state digital recorder, a failed spare transmitter with a new one, and degraded insulation on the telescope with new thermal insulation. The crew will also install a Battery Voltage/Temperature Improvement Kit to protect the spacecraft batteries from overcharging and overheating when the telescope goes into a safe mode.