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Article: Hubble repair aims for more power, better pictures.(The Dallas Morning News)
- Article from:
- Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service
- Article date:
- February 26, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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DALLAS _ Astronauts are about to make their fourth house call on an aging patient _ the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope.
Twelve years after its launch, Hubble's 12-ton body is getting a bit creaky. During five spacewalks starting next week, the crew of the space shuttle Columbia plans to refurbish some of the telescope's major parts. Blastoff is scheduled for Thursday morning.
Among the additions: A bigger and better workhorse camera, a modernized power system, more efficient solar panels and a refrigerator-like machine designed to rescue an infrared camera that shut down in 1999 when its coolant ran out.
After the astronauts' checkup, the $2 ...