Apr 24 1990
From The Space Library
Space Shuttle Discovery, flight STS-31, was successfully launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, with the $1.5 billion, 25,000-pound Hubble Space Telescope in its cargo bay. Seven years of delays, the latest occurring last April 10, when a power failure in the orbiter caused the mission to be scrubbed, preceded the event. The craft ascended to a 381-mile orbit, the highest altitude yet obtained by a Shuttle. On April 25 the Hubble telescope-which had an expected 15-year duration-was deployed; the telescope was to probe the universe with 10 times the clarity ever before achieved. Discovery landed at Edwards Air Force Base in California, on April 29, with a test of stronger, carbon brakes that would allow future landings at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, reducing both time and money for NASA's Shuttle launches.
Scientists, however, could not receive data from the telescope immediately after it had been deployed because of an antenna entangled in a power cable. The entangled antenna could not rotate and relay information to a TDRS satellite. The low, 381-mule orbit prevented all data from reaching ground stations. The six- to eight-week chore of powering up and calibrating instruments on the telescope could not begin until the problem was resolved. Engineers zeroed in on and only partially resolved the next day. (B Sun, Apr 25/90; Apr 26/90; W Post, Apr 25/90; Apr 26/90; Apr 30/90; May 1/90; NY Times, Apr 25/90; Apr 26/90; Apr 30/90; W Times, Apr 25/90; Apr 26/90; P Inq, Apr 25/90; Apr 26/90)
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