WIKIARCHIVES.SPACE

At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a press conference following the successful launch of space shuttle Atlantis on the STS-125 mission featured (from left) Associate Administrator for NASA's Space Operations Directorate William Gerstenmaier, Associate Administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate Ed Weiler, Launch Integration Manager Mike Moses and Shuttle Launch Director Mike Leinbach. Atlantis will rendezvous with NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. Liftoff was on time at 2:01 p.m. EDT. Atlantis' 11-day flight will include five spacewalks to refurbish and upgrade the telescope with state-of-the-art science instruments that will expand Hubble's capabilities and extend its operational lifespan through at least 2014. The payload includes a Wide Field Camera 3, Fine Guidance Sensor and the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph.