Lockheed Martin team to support Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission
Lockheed Martin Missiles & Space
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Lockheed Martin team to support Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission
SUNNYVALE, Calif., December 7, 1999 — A team led by Lockheed Martin Missiles & Space will provide support
to the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in the planning, training and implementation of Servicing Mission 3A
(SM3A) to the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). The mission, with NASA designation STS-103, is scheduled for
launch aboard the space shuttle Discovery at 12:13 am EST on December 11 (9:13 pm PST on December 10). The
launch window will be open for 38 minutes.
“We’re looking forward to supporting the December mission to restore Hubble’s functional redundancy and
upgrade its computer and electronics capabilities,” said Jim Kelley, Lockheed Martin program manager of HST
Flight Systems and Servicing. “We’ve assembled the same team that performed so well on the first two servicing
missions. We’re confident that this mission will go just as well, and set the stage for a Shuttle visit in 2001 to
install new science instruments and enhance HST’s power and thermal systems. Since HST was designed for
servicing, each mission like this increases HST’s productivity and keeps it on the forefront of science. We’re very
proud to work with NASA Goddard to maintain this magnificent observatory.”
The SM3A principal objective is the replacement of all six gyroscopes that comprise three Rate Sensor Units.
The fourth of six gyroscopes ceased operation in mid-November. The telescope then entered an automatic
safemode that aligned the orbiting observatory so that sunlight falling on its solar arrays would keep its batteries
charged. Science operations have ceased, but all other telescope systems are healthy.
In addition to replacements of the Rate Sensor Units, spacewalking astronauts on SM3A will install a new
Advanced Computer that will dramatically increase the computing power, speed and storage
capability of HST. They will change out one of the Fine Guidance Sensors, and replace a tape recorder with a new
Solid-State Recorder. The Extra-Vehicular Activity (EVA) crew will also install a new
S-band transmitter, and install voltage improvement kits for the telescope’s nickel-hydrogen batteries. Finally,
they will undertake repairs on the multi-layer insulation on the outer surface of the telescope. Four spacewalks
are planned to complete the repairs.
The Lockheed Martin team includes individuals from Lockheed Martin Missiles & Space, Lockheed Martin
Technical Operations, Lockheed Martin Mission Systems, Lockheed Martin Space Operations, Jackson and Tull,
Orbital Sciences Corporation, Raytheon Systems Co., and Allied-Signal. The team is responsible for:
* Spacecraft Systems Engineering and Design Integration
* Payload Integration and Test at GSFC and KSC
* Astronaut Training
* Replacement Satellite Hardware Design and Development
* Space Shuttle Support Equipment Design and Development
* Spacecraft Mission Operations and Control
* Ground Software
* Spacecraft Flight Software
* Servicing Mission Planning and Timeline Development.
Hubble was designed from the start to allow its instruments and
systems to be replaced when necessary or when obsolete — with
the benefits of extended operating life and increased productivity.
“In February 1997, we fitted Hubble with two next-generation scientific instruments, the Near-Infrared
Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS) and the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS), giving
it new infrared and ultraviolet vision” said Kelley. “At the same time we installed a new state-of-the-art Solid
State Recorder — just like another one that will be installed on SM3A — that dramatically increased Hubble’s
observing capacity.”
Astronauts on Servicing Mission 3B, currently scheduled for 2001, will install the Advanced Camera for Surveys
that will offer ten times the resolution of the cameras already on-board. In addition, new super- efficient solar
arrays from Lockheed Martin Missiles & Space will generate enough power for simultaneous operation of several
scientific instruments. These technologies were not available when Hubble was designed and launched.
“By the time we complete servicing missions 3A and 3B, the addition of new technology hardware and the
incorporation of advanced instruments will have increased the scientific capability significantly,” said Frank
Cepollina, NASA, Project Manager, Hubble Space Telescope Flight
Systems and Servicing. “And when SM4 is completed in 2004, we will have the latest 21st century scientific
imaging technology on board. Astronomical capability is added as efficient, technologically superior instruments
replace those that have fulfilled their mission. More discoveries are possible because power, data gathering and
dissemination capabilities are increased.”
Since its launch in April 1990, this unique, powerful observatory has produced a vast amount of information and
a steady stream of images that have astounded the world’s astronomical and scientific community. The Telescope
has looked at more than 10,000 astronomical targets, taken over 259,000 exposures, produced more than 7
trillion bytes of science data, and given rise to over 2,400 scientific reports and research papers by
astronomers from more than 40 countries.
The NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) in Greenbelt, MD manages the HST project for the Office of Space
Science, NASA Headquarters. Since the 1990 launch, under contract to NASA, Missiles & Space and Lockheed
Martin Technical Operations personnel in Sunnyvale, Calif. and at GSFC have helped manage the day-to-day
spacecraft operations of the telescope, and have provided extensive preparation and training for the telescope
servicing missions. The Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, MD selects observing programs from
numerous proposals and analyzes, archives, and disseminates incoming astronomical data.
Lockheed Martin Missiles & Space, based in Sunnyvale, Calif., is a leading supplier of satellites and space systems
to military, civil government and commercial communications organizations around
the world. These spacecraft and systems have enhanced military
and commercial communications; provided new and timely remote-
sensing information; and furnished new data for thousands of
scientists studying our planet and the universe.
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NOTE TO EDITORS: High and low resolution images of the Hubble Space Telescope are available for downloading at
the following URL:
http://lmms.external.lmco.com/photos/civil_space/hubble_space_tele_hst/hst.html
