STS-125

Mission

STS-125

Type: Astrophysics

STS-125, or HST-SM4 (Hubble Space Telescope Servicing Mission 4), was the fifth and final space shuttle mission to the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). Space Shuttle Atlantis carried two new instruments to the Hubble Space Telescope, the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph and the Wide Field Camera 3. The mission also replaced a Fine Guidance Sensor, six gyroscopes, and two battery unit modules to allow the telescope to continue to function at least through 2014. The crew also installed new thermal blanket insulating panels to provide improved thermal protection, and a soft-capture mechanism that would aid in the safe de-orbiting of the telescope by an unmanned spacecraft at the end of its operational lifespan.

Location

Launch Complex 39A

Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA

182 launches have been at this location.

Rocket

Space Shuttle Atlantis OV-104

Length: 38.1 meters
Diameter: 8.4 meters
First Launched: October 3, 1985

Constructed in 1985, Atlantis was the fourth operational and the second-to-last Space Shuttle built. Its maiden flight was STS-51-J in October of 1985. Atlantis embarked on its 33rd and final mission, also the final mission of a space shuttle, STS-135, on 8 July 2011.

The Space Shuttle Atlantis OV-104 rocket has been launched a total of 32 times with 32 successful and 0 failed launches.

Agency

United Space Alliance

Type: Commercial
Abbreviation: USA
Administration:
Founded: 1995
Launchers: Space Shuttle
Spacecraft:
Country: USA

United Space Alliance (USA) is a spaceflight operations company. USA is a joint venture which was established in August 1995 as a Limited Liability Company (LLC), equally owned by Boeing and Lockheed Martin.