STATUS REPORT : STS-125-01

3 p.m. CDT Monday, May 11, 2009
Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas
05.11.09 STATUS REPORT : STS-125-01 STS-125 MCC Status Report #01

The Hubble Space Telescope’s final house call is on its way, as the space shuttle Atlantis roared into orbit through a clear blue Florida sky this afternoon.

The STS-125 crew – Commander Scott Altman, Pilot Gregory C. Johnson and mission specialists Michael Good, Megan McArthur, John Grunsfeld, Mike Massimino and Andrew Feustel – lifted off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center at 1:01:56 p.m. Central time as Hubble flew directly overhead. Less than nine minutes later, the crew reached its preliminary orbit and began making its way toward the telescope. Atlantis is scheduled to rendezvous with the orbiting observatory on Wednesday.

Atlantis is carrying equipment that will extend Hubble’s lifetime and enhance its scientific capabilities. Grunsfeld, Massimino, Good and Feustel will install the new equipment during five spacewalks planned for the 11-day mission. Later today, the crew will check out the shuttle’s robotic arm and use it to survey the equipment in Atlantis’ payload bay. The arm will be used Wednesday to capture Hubble and secure it to the shuttle bay for servicing.

The STS-125 crew will begin its sleep period at 8:01 p.m. and awaken at 4:01 a.m. Tuesday. The next shuttle status report will be issued after crew wakeup, or earlier if events warrant.

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts125/news/STS-125-01.html