Atlantis flies home following successful Hubble mission

by Stevie Smith - May 21 2009, 15:00

With a somewhat problematic maintenance mission to the Hubble Space Telescope successfully completed, and NASA’s diligent astronauts duly patted on the back by U.S. president Barack Obama, the space shuttle Atlantis has been given the green light for its Earthly return.

Following nine days of repairs and overhauls on the long-serving Hubble platform, Atlantis parted ways with the telescope on Tuesday and is expected to begin its return journey some time today before landing back at Florida’s Kennedy Space Center on Friday morning.

“I never imagined the flight would go as interestingly as it has,” commented astronaut Scott Altman in reference to the minor damage sustained by Atlantis during launch and also technical and equipment issues that hampered one of the team’s five repair spacewalks. 

The crew aboard Atlantis were contacted on Wednesday by President Obama, who spent a brief time conversing with the astronauts and congratulated them for working through what he called an “incredible journey.”

“Did you guys see my house (in Chicago)?” quipped Obama to the crew. “I need to know if the lawn is being mowed.”

After installing and repairing a number of vital components that malfunctioned on Hubble during 2008, it is believed the Atlantis mission (STS-125) has now extended the telescope’s operational longevity through to 2014.

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