USA TODAY Collegiate Case Study: The Hubble Legacy - Part 6

8/9/2019 USA TODAY Collegiate Case Study: The Hubble Legacy - Part 6

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The Hubble Legacy

Part Six: Critical Inquiry

Copyright 2008 USA TODAY, a division o Gannett Co., Inc. All rights reserved.

In collaboration with NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

1. Several o these articles describe how NASA Hubble Space Telescope scientists and engineers recovered rom unex-pected events and solved problems. Can you identiy a set o problem-solving steps and processes that are evidentin more than one situation? What are the dierences in the problem-solving steps/processes when the problem isbeing solved on the ground (prior to a mission) and when the problem is being solved real-time on-orbit (using theastronaut crew and ground support) during a mission?

2. Successul space missions, whether human or robotic, require many dierent technologies. What potential spin-obenets can you imagine as results rom research and development in lie support systems, robotics, teleroboticsarticial intelligence, etc.?

3. How does the risk o servicing the Hubble compare to other types o spaceight missions in terms o cost to the public

and risk o human lie? How does it compare to other endeavors such as the Panama Canal, Brooklyn Bridge, HooverDam, the Large Hadron Collider, etc.?

4. Should the Space Program ocus on low-risk missions in order to gain the publics trust or high-risk missions to inspirethe public? What are the pros and cons o each ocus?

5. What Hubble lessons learned were applicable to the next servicing mission? How did the ongoing servicing oHubble, and the inormation gained rom it, impact other human and robotic space missions?

6. One o the original purposes to be gained rom the Hubble servicing missions was to test procedures that would beused or building the International Space Station (ISS). In what ways has the servicing o the Hubble Space Telescopeimpacted ISS, rom inuencing the publics opinion o ISS to processes and procedures used in building it?

7. Do you agree that the Hubble Space Telescope was becoming a national disgrace? Were there built-in eatures oHubble that kept it rom meeting this prediction? In spite o the primary mirror problem, what scientic advanceswere still being made by the telescope beore it was corrected on the First Servicing Mission?

Hubble: In Depth

1. When the trouble with the Hubble Space Telescopes primary mirror was detected shortly ater its launch in 1990NASA and the mirror manuacturer, Perkin-Elmer Corp., now Goodrich, were criticized or not testing the primaryand secondary mirrors together on earth. NASA estimated such a test would have been cost-prohibitive at that timeThis is an example o accepting technical risk (as opposed to risk to human lie) vs. cost. When an important test isprohibitively expensive, yet ailure could compromise the entire program, what steps might a company, or agencysuch as NASA, take to lessen the risk? Can such risk ever be eliminated completely?

2. What steps did NASA take to reduce risks in getting ready or the First Servicing Mission in 1993? Explain how theserisk-reduction measures apply to the International Space Station and other satellite and observatory programs.

Discussion Questions

Hubble: The Mission, The Lessons


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The Hubble Legacy


Hubble: In Depth (continued)

3. The article Hubble: Astronomys time machine touches on the decision to make Hubble serviceable by space-suitedastronauts operating rom the Space Shuttle. Many astronomers would have preerred to put Hubble in a much higherorbit, as are the other NASA Great Observatories. Discuss the costs o making Hubble serviceable. What would havebeen the positive and negative results i Hubble had been put into a higher orbit that the Shuttle could not reach?

4. Take a look at current and uture Great Observatory-type telescope missions and the dierent orbits they are in. Whatactors determine the orbit necessary or each? What are the advantages o having observatories in dierent types oorbits?

5. What might be the implications i the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) is capable o traveling to some o theseorbits, keeping in mind that we have now perormed many kinds o repairs on Hubble which were not originally an-ticipated with pre-planned built-in eatures?

The Hubble Spirit

Less than three weeks prior to a scheduled October 2008 launch date or NASAs space shuttle Atlantis STS-125 missionto service the Hubble Space Telescope or the th servicing mission, a signicant Hubble anomaly occurred on orbitThis caused a delay o the mission so that the problem could be properly understood, analyzed and solved. The A side(there are two operating electronic sides (A and B)) o the science instrument command and data handling (SI C&DH)unit had ailed, aecting the storage and transmittal o data rom Hubble to Earth. Hubbles instruments automaticallywent into sae mode.

In groups o three, research the impact o this event and develop three possible options or addressing the problemConsider the impact o each o these plans on the objectives or the STS-125 servicing mission to Hubble and the overalobjectives o the telescope. Discuss the potential impacts, advantages and disadvantages o each plan on the HubbleSpace Telescope servicing mission and the telescopes operations. Finally, present a justication or your selection o the

best option among the three.


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The Hubble Legacy


Internet Resources

e NASA Home Page:www.nasa.gov

e Hubble Servicing Mission 4:www.nasa.gov/hubble

e NASA Hubble Program Main Page:www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/main/index.html

e Introduction to Hubble Servicing Missions:http://hubble.nasa.gov/missions/intro.php

e NASA: A Brie History o the Hubble Space Telescope:http://history.nasa.gov/hubble/index.html

e NASA Hubble Education Resources:www.nasa.gov/education/hubble

e Space Telescope Science Institute Ofce o Public Outreach:http://oposite.stsci.edu

e Space Telescope Science Institute Hubble Essentials/General Interest:

http://hubblesite.org

e The Hubble Heritage Project:http://heritage.stsci.edu

e The European Home Page or the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope:www.spacetelescope.org/about/history

e Books about Edwin Hubble:www.edwinhubble.com

e The Best o the Hubble Telescope - Links to Hubble Images:http://seds.org/hst/hst.html

e The Planetary Society - Space Topics Hubble Space Telescope:http://www.planetary.org/explore/topics/hubble/

All photos in the let ears o The Hubble Legacy are rom the Hubble Space Telescope, Courtesy o NASA


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Mike Weiss - Deputy Program Manager/Technical or the Hubble Space Telescope Program. Mike has led the tecal development o all Hubble servicing missions. He has worked human and robotic space missions at NASA or ove

years. Mike holds a bachelors and a masters degree in Aerospace Engineering.

Copyright 2008 USA TODAY, a division o Gannett Co., Inc. All rights reserved.

The Hubble Legacy



Contributing Experts:

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Dr. Jeffrey A. Hoffman - Astronaut, Proessor o the Practice o Aerospace Engineering, Massachusetts InstituTechnology, Department o Aeronautics and Astronautics;

Je has a bachelors degree in astronomy rom Amherst College, a masters degree in materials science rom Rice Unsity and a doctorate in astrophysics rom Harvard University.

Jes ourth space ight was as an EVA crewmember on Hubbles rst servicing mission in 1993 (STS-61). He wao the our astronauts who perormed a record ve space walks, and has logged more than 1,211 hours and 21.5 mmiles in space.

Paul Richards - Astronaut, Hubble Manager/Engineer, Observatory Manager NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Paul has a bachelors degree in mechanical engineering rom Drexel University and a masters degree in mechanical e

neering. rom the University o Maryland.

Paul was Senior EVA Tool Development Engineer or the Hubble Space Telescope Servicing Project; Project ManageHST EVA crew aids and tools and Program Manager or HST EVA hardware. He also served as systems engineering sup

or the HST WETF/NBS Servicing Mission Simulations as a utility diver and EMU suited subject.

Dr. Kathryn Thornton - Astronaut, Proessor and Assistant Dean or Graduate Programs, University o Virginia Sco Engineering and Applied Science

Kathy has a bachelors degree in physics rom Auburn University and masters and doctorate degrees in physics romUniversity o Virginia.

Kathy served or 12 years as a NASA Astronaut, ying on our shuttle missions. including Hubbles rst servicing miin 1993 (STS-61), orbiting the Earth 256 times and traveling over 6 million miles in space.

Russell L. Werneth - Aerospace Engineer and Higher Education Advisor at NASA Goddard Space Flight CentGreenbelt, Maryland

Russ has bachelors and masters degrees in Mechanical Engineering rom the University o Maryland in College Parkand a masters degree in Engineering Administration rom the George Washington University in Washington, DC.

During the past our Hubble servicing missions, Russ served as the ExtraVehicular Activity (EVA, or spacewalk) Manor Crew Aids and Tools Manager. His responsibilities included EVA procedures and training, as well as unique astro

tool design, testing, and development.

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USA TODAY Collegiate Case Study: The Hubble Legacy - Part 6