Astronauts have completed a risky operation to replace the power system aboard the Hubble space telescope, working outside the orbiting space shuttle Columbia.
鈥淭he spacewalk went fine and there were no problems,鈥� a NASA spokesman told 快猫短视频. 鈥淗ubble has been turned back on and everything is working fine.鈥�
The telescope鈥檚 power unit was shut down for the first time ever, at 0937 GMT on Wednesday. The crew of Columbia had 10 hours to complete their work or the telescope鈥檚 instruments could have been damaged by the cold of space. Power was successfully restored at 1402 GMT and the spacewalk was completed at 1516 GMT.
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The Power Control Unit (PCU) was not designed to be replaced in orbit and NASA could not cannot guarantee that power would come back on properly.
The start of the two-man spacewalk was delayed for two hours after one of the spacesuits was found to have sprung a leak. The water system used to cool astronauts was leaking through a valve on the inside of the suit. The top half of the suit was replaced and the spacewalk began at 0828 GMT.
Extended lifespan
Replacing the power unit involved detaching and re-attaching 36 different connectors. The unit routes power from the telescope鈥檚 solar arrays and batteries to its on-board instruments.
快猫短视频s had discovered a weakness with the original power unit and thought it had to be replaced to ensure the telescope continued to function properly.
Astronauts had already replaced the telescope鈥檚 two solar arrays during spacewalks on Monday and Tuesday. The new wings are smaller and more efficient. Together with the new power control unit they will extend Hubble鈥檚 life until 2010.
Another two spacewalks are planned for Thursday and Friday. The first of these will see Hubble fitted with a more advanced camera and array of light filters. This will detect light from the ultraviolet to the near infrared range and scientists say should improve Hubble鈥檚 imaging range by a factor of 10.