WIKIARCHIVES.SPACE

On Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the equipment and hardware needed to service the Hubble Space Telescope are installed into space shuttle Atlantis' payload bay. Launch of Atlantis' 11-day STS-125 mission to Hubble is targeted for May 12. The flight will include five spacewalks during which astronauts will refurbish and upgrade the telescope with state-of-the-art science instruments. As a result, Hubble's capabilities will be expanded and its operational lifespan extended through at least 2014.