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Eighth Longest Spacewalk is Over
Atlantis astronauts Mike Massimino and Mike Good have wrapped up the mission's second spacewalk, and it was a long one: seven hours, 56 minutes.

That makes it the eighth longest spacewalk ever, just a tad longer than one that performed very similar tasks on the Hubble Space Telescope in 1993.

Today's work was scheduled to take six hours and 30 minutes, but the installation of six new gyroscopes took longer than expected because one pair wouldn't fit properly.

The team switched to a spare, refurbished pair, then regrouped to install the first of two new sets of batteries inside the telescope.

"Batteries are included on this mission," astronaut John Grunsfeld said once the spacewalkers were inside the airlock.

Despite the hitch with the gyros, all of the day's tasks were accomplished.

The mission's first spacewalk, on Thursday, also lasted more than seven hours after a bolt holding in a science instrument proved difficult to loosen.

"Hubble again threw us some curves today," mission commander Scott Altman said before the battery work began.

Grunsfeld and partner Drew Feustel are scheduled to suit up Saturday for the mission's third of five planned spacewalks.

Because of today's extended day, the crew will get to go to sleep and wake up an hour later than previously scheduled.

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Astronauts To Peform Hubble Surgery
No rest for the weary today on space shuttle Atlantis.

The third of five consecutive spacewalks to repair and upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope is widely anticipated to be the most difficult of all.

It includes surgery on a sensitive camera that wasn't designed to be repaired in space.

The Advanced Camera for Surveys, or ACS, was one of Hubble's most heavily used instruments until a power short in 2007 knocked out two of its three channels.

Mission specialists John Grunsfeld and Drew Feustel, who successfully completed the mission's first spacewalk on Thursday, will team up again.

They'll also install a high-powered new spectrograph, which will take the place of a box whose corrective optics famously fixed Hubble's blurry vision in 1993. It's no longer needed.

Click "Read more..." to take a look at the today's schedule.

5:31 a.m.: Crew wakes.
6:46 a.m.: Spacewalk preps begin.
9:16 a.m.: Spacewalk No. 3 begins.
9:46 a.m.: Corrective Optics Space Telescope Axial Replacement (COSTAR) removal / Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) installation.
11:46 a.m.: COS "aliveness" test.
12:36 p.m.: Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) repair begins.
1:31 p.m.: ACS power down.
2:31 p.m.: ACS power up.
3:46 p.m.: Spacewalk No. 3 ends / COS functional test.
6:21 p.m.: Spacewalk No. 4 procedure review.
9:31 p.m.: Crew sleeps.

Note: these times reflect managers' decision to push back the crew wake-up time and the day's activities by one hour following Friday's marathon spacewalk by "Mike and Mike" - mission specialists Mike Massimino and Mike Good. We'll post NASA's officially revised schedule as soon as it's available.

At seven hours and 56 minutes, Friday's spacewalk was the eighth longest ever, knocking out of the top 10 another effort to replace gyroscopes on Hubble. It took almost as long for astronauts Jeff Hoffman and Story Musgrave to do the same job in 1993.

That was the first mission to service Hubble; Atlantis' is the last.

As always, you can watch all of today's action live here on The Flame Trench. Just click on the picture above to launch a NASA TV viewer.

And keep refreshing this page for updates throughout the day.

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Astronauts Wind Up Wild Success
Two NASA astronauts are back inside shuttle Atlantis after a wildly successful mission to outfit the Hubble Space Telescope with new state-of-the-art spectrograph and repair a broken planetary camera.

Atlantis lead spacewalker John Grunsfeld and mission specialist Andrew "Drew" Feustel removed Hubble's 16-year-old "contact lenses" and replaced it with a super-sensitive spectrogragh that will shed new light on mysterious dark matter that makes up 90 percent of the universe.

On the third of five spacewalks scheduled on consecutive days, the astronauts also revived the Advanced Camera for Surveys, a powerful planetary camera that suffered serious electrical failures that shut down two of its three channels.

Grunsfeld and Feustel were stoked when Mission Control reported that the near-comatose camera had been successfully resuscitated.

"Woo-hoo!" Feustel called out.

"Oh, that's unbelievable," Grunsfeld said.

"Believable," said Feustel.

"Nice work, guys," Atlantis mission commander Scott Altman said. "Congratulations to you, John, and Drew, for a great effort."

The astronauts switched off battery power to their spacesuits and begin pressurizing the shuttle's external airlock at 4:11 a.m., officially marking the end of a 6-hour, 36-minute excursion.

It was the 21st Hubble servicing spacewalk performed since the observatory was launched into orbit in April 1990. Astronauts now have tallied 151 hours and two minutes of spacewalking work on the observatory since NASA's first Hubble repair mission in December 1993.

Atlantis mission specialists Mike Massimino and Mike Good will venture outside Atlantis on Sunday for the fourth spacewalk of the STS-125 mission. Their big challenge: Repair the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph.

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Astronauts Aim For 4th Spacewalk
Spacewalking astronauts will attempt to resuscitate a Hubble Space Telescope spectrograph that died in 2004, and project scientists are say the job might provide impossible.

"We've warned from the very beginning that this is a very ambitious mission. We've set the bar very high, and please don't get mad at us if we don't get absolutely everything done," said Dave Leckrone, senior Hubble scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.

But he predicted Atlantis mission specialists Michael Massimino and Michael Good will not want to be outdone by crewmates John Grunsfeld and Drew Feustel, who successfully repaired the Advanced Camera for Surveys during a spacewalk Saturday.

"I think Mike Massimino and Mike Good are probably feeling pretty competitive," Leckrone said. "They saw how things went (Saturday) and they don't want to be shown up. So I think it's going to go extremely smoothly."

Massimino and Good aim to replace a failed electronics card on the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph, and instrument that played a key role in proving that black holes not only exist, they're ubiquitous.

But in order to do the job, the astronauts have to remove a cover plate held in place by 111 tiny, non-captive screws that could get loose, float into the telescope, and damage sensitive optics or electronics.

You'll want to watch the action unfold live here in The Flame Trench as Massimino and Good exit the airlock of shuttle Atlantis around 9:16 a.m. and then set out to revive the Hubble's Great Black Hole Hunter.

Here's a look at the coming day in space:

++5:31 a.m.: Crew wakes.

++6:46 a.m.: Spacewalk preps begin.

++9:16 a.m.: Spacewalk begins.

++12:01 p.m.: Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph power down.

++1:26 p.m." Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph aliveness test.

++2:01 p.m.: Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph functional test.

++2:16: Install new thermal insulation on Hubble.

++3:46 p.m.: Spacewalk ends.

++7:16 p.m.: Procedures review for spacewalk Monday.

++9:31 p.m.: Crew sleep.

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Fourth of five Hubble spacewalks ends
Atlantis spacewalkers Mike Massimino and Mike Good are back inside shuttle Atlantis and repressurizing its airlock, officially ending at 5:47 p.m. a challenging but apparently successful effort to revive one of the Hubble Space Telescope's key science instruments.

The mission's fourth of five spacewalks lasted lasted even longer than their nearly eight-hour effort Friday, which was then the eighth longest spacewalk ever.

Today's excursion totaled eight hours and two minutes, ranking it No. 6 all time.

Massimino and Good installed a new power supply card into the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph, or STIS, which had shut down in 2004.

As the pair was cleaning up and stowing its tools, Massimino reported seeing a hole in the palm of his glove with white material showing through.

But mission managers said his suit was maintaining proper pressure and did not force him to rush back to the airlock.

Telescope operators reported that the spectrograph's new power supply is working. But tests of its three science channels were cut short when the instrument "safed" itself because of a temperature problem.

They believe the instrument is OK, and plan to restart the tests.

One more spacewalk remains on Monday, and mission managers are analyzing whether to change its timeline to include work that couldn't be finished today.

That was the installation of a protective thermal blanket on one of Hubble's equipment bays.

Another blanket was already scheduled to be installed Monday, in addition to higher priority batteries and navigation sensors.

Mission specialists John Grunsfeld and Drew Feustel will team up for the third time, and likely become the last humans to lay hands on Hubble.

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Final "Hug" for Hubble
Astronauts today are expected to handle the Hubble Space Telescope for the last time.

The crew of space shuttle Atlantis is preparing for the fifth and final spacewalk of the fifth and final mission to service Hubble, which was launched 19 years ago.

Mission specialists John Grunsfeld and Drew Feustel will partner for the third time during the 11-day mission, and have the honor of "hugging" Hubble for the last time.

With NASA planning to retire its shuttle fleet next year, crews aren't expected to return to Hubble. But they hope to leave it in its best condition ever for another five to 10 years.

Grunsfeld and Feustel plan to install finish off some top priority mission goals: installing a second set of fresh batteries and a refurbished navigation sensor.

If time allows, they'll partially or fully install protective thermal blankets on two equipment bays.

But managers hope to limit the spacewalk to six hours or less, since three of the first four ran well beyond schedule.

Here's a look at the original schedule for Monday. However, managers were replanning after Sunday's lengthy spacewalk by Mike Massimino and Mike Good - the sixth longest ever at at eight hours and two minutes.

++ 5:31 a.m.: Crew wakes.
++ 6:46 a.m.: Preparations begin for Spacewalk No. 5.
++ 9:16 a.m.: Spacewalk No. 5 begins.
++ 9:46 a.m.: Bay 3 battery removal/replacement begins.
++ 11:06 a.m.: Bay 3 battery "aliveness" test.
++ 11:16 a.m.: Fine Guidance Sensor-2 removal/replacement begins.
++ 12:41 p.m.: Fine Guidance Sensor "aliveness" test.
++ 1:16 p.m.: Bay 5 thermal blanket installation.
++ 2:46 p.m.: Hubble antenna deploy (part one).
++ 3:01 p.m.: Spacewalk No. 5 ends.
++ 5:11 p.m.: Hubble antenna deploy (part two).
++ 5:46 p.m.: Fine Guidance Sensor-2 functional tests.
++ 8:31 p.m.: Crew sleeps.

We'll post an updated schedule when it's available.

Don't miss the last Hubble spacewalk, which you can follow live here on The Flame Trench. Just click on the picture above to launch a NASA TV viewer.
http://www.floridatoday.com/content/blogs/space/

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What should we expect from Bolden?
Editor's Note: My new space column runs Monday in the FLORIDA TODAY newspaper, but you'll be able to see it here early on Sundays. Thanks, and please click comment below to weigh in or e-mail me at jkelly@floridatoday.com.

What can we expect from Charles Bolden?

Bolden has been in hiding the past few months as President Barack Obama's science team worked its way through a list of other candidates for NASA administrator. U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson has been advocating fiercely for his former shuttle crewmate and close personal friend, but Bolden's just waiting quietly.

Now, it seems Bolden will get the nod, perhaps as early as today when he sits down with Obama in the Oval Office, presumably to talk about where they'll take U.S. space policy. The White House's leak last week that Bolden is now their guy prompted no public complaints over the weekend from senators who would have to confirm him.

There are plenty of hints in the public record about Bolden's stand on the big overarching issues of space exploration.

First, Bolden is an astronaut. He would be the first astronaut to get the job since President George H.W. Bush tapped Dick Truly. Bolden is a U.S. Marine aviator who piloted two shuttle missions and commanded two others.

However, he is not a one-dimensional advocate of human exploration. In 2006, he testified before the U.S. Senate about balancing human and robotic exploration.

"Building a vehicle or set of vehicles to take humans to the moon and on to Mars without continued emphasis on the life science research to understand more fully the environmental and human factors challenges that must be overcome to successfully allow humans to survive these journeys is a certain recipe for disaster and ultimate failure," Bolden told senators.

"Similarly," he went on, "funding increased science exploration and experimentation through employment of robotic vehicles and remote sensing and satellite data-gathering without continued improvement in our ability to safely send humans beyond Earth's bounds and on to other heavenly bodies literally defeats our innate human drive and curiosity to explore the unknown and venture from this planet in search of ways to improve our lives here at home."

Bolden's on the record with the same plea as most other space-exploration advocates have used. NASA's budget is insufficient to tackle all the jobs it has been assigned: studying Earth's climate, advancing aeronautics, exploring the solar system with robotic probes and pushing the limits of human spaceflight.

One tidbit on his resume: He lobbied briefly for ATK. The launch-systems company is the lead contractor for the Ares rocket currently under scrutiny as the Obama administration reviews NASA's developing moon program.

Just about anyone qualified for this job would have a history of working for or with contractors, universities and others doing business with NASA.

Certainly, Bolden has the ear of a key influential member of Congress. Nelson, a Democrat who flew on the shuttle in 1986 with Bolden, helps lead committees overseeing NASA policy and funding. Nelson fought hard against other hopefuls the White House suggested, holding firm for his friend.

Where Bolden stands on parochial Space Coast issues such as when to retire the shuttles and how to proceed on new moon rockets probably will depend less on personal beliefs and more on orders from the White House. Marines understand orders.

It's worth noting that Bolden served on an independent safety panel that strongly recommended this year against flying the shuttles past 2010, saying it is unsafe and would drain funds needed to develop new rockets and spacecraft.

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Spacewalkers Complete Noble Cause
Two NASA astronauts just installed new thermal blankets to the Hubble Space Telescope, completing the last task on the fifth and final spacewalk aimed at extending the life of the 19-year-old observatory.

The New Outer Blanket Layer, or NOBL, covers, were fixed on three equipment bay doors by spacewalking astronauts John Grunsfeld and Drew Feustel.

"Drew, it's a noble cause we're serving." said Grunsfeld, still anchored to the end of shuttle Atlantis' 50-foot robot arm.

"Ha, ha, ha. Oh John, you're a jokester some times," Feustel replied.

"John, if you're done monkeying around with the telescope," I'll take you back to the airlock," robot arm operator Megan McArthur said.

"Ok," Grunsfeld said. "Thanks."

The astronauts will spent the next half-hour or so taking a tool inventory and cleaning up the shuttle payload bay. Then they'll head to the airlock, marking the end of the last spacewalk on NASA's fifth and final mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope.

During five spacewalks on consecutive days, the astronauts outfitted Hubble with two new science instruments and brought two others back from the dead. They installed six new batteries and six new gyroscopes and three new thermal blankets.

"You guys have done it all," NASA astronaut Dan Burbank said from the Mission Control Center in Houston.

"You hear that, John? You've done it all," one of his crewmates said.

"We've done it all," another chimed in.

Said Grunsfeld: "It's been a great achievement."

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DiBello becomes interim Space Fla. prez.
During a teleconferenced meeting from Tallahassee, the Space Florida Board of Directors unanimously approved Frank DiBello, a space industry consultant from Cocoa, as the organization's interim president.

The next scheduled board meeting is June 24 at Kennedy Space Center, where the board will set guidelines for the official search for a new president. DiBello's appointment was for 90 days.

Former President Steve Kohler resigned the $175,000 per year job May 6 under pressure from Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp, who chairs the board of directors. Kohler had been questioned about hiring lobbyists with personal connections under no-bid contracts.

Appointed in October 2006 by then-Gov. Jeb Bush, Kohler directed 27 employees in an effort to strengthen Florida's position in the space industry. With a "build-it-and-they-will-come" philosophy, Kohler's innovations were criticized when viable partners failed to materialize. He also drew fire for questionable lobbying contracts.

A Florida resident for six years, DiBello has more than three decades of experience in the aerospace, satellite and launch industries. He formerly operated a venture capital company that invested in the space industry.

"What I've got to do is get the organization focused and moving forward with everybody’s sleeves rolled moved up," he said.

DiBello said he hopes to be considered for the position permanently. He will begin his duties as soon as Space Florida attorneys make certain there is no conflict due to the consultant contract he now has with Space Florida.

According to state guidelines, the new president should be selected within 60 days. He or she is required to have 10 years of managerial experience in the national and international aerospace industry and a thorough knowledge of United States aerospace industry with respect to global competitiveness.

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Spacewalkers Give Hubble Final Hug
Spacewalking astronauts John Grunsfeld and Drew Feustel are safely back inside shuttle Atlantis after winding up the last of five back-to-back spacewalks that have left the Hubble Space Telescope at the apex of its scientific capability while extending the observatory's orbital life an anticipated five to 10 years.

Grunsfeld and Feustel switched their spacesuit batteries off and started pressurizing the shuttle's airlock at 3:22 p.m., marking the end of a seven-hour, two-minute spacewalk.

During the past five days, Grunsfeld, Feustel and two other spacewalkers -- Mike Massimino and Mike Good -- installed two state-of-the-art science instruments, repair two others and equipped the observatory with new batteries, gyroscopes and other gear that should extend observations until at least 2014.

Grunsfeld was thoughtful and poetic as the $887 mission enters the home stretch.

"This is a really tremendous adventure that we've been on, a really challenging mission. Hubble isn't just a satellite. It's about humanity's quest for knowledge," he said.

"The only way of finding the limits of the possible is by going beyond them into the impossible. And on this mission we tried some things that many people said were not possible." he added.

Among them: Repair the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph and the Advanced Camera For Surveys. Both comatose instruments were resuscitated. Many thought it would be impossible to finish all the work.

"But we've achieved that, and we wish Hubble the very best," Grunsfeld said.

"It's truly a sign of the great country that we are able to do things like this on a marvelous spaceship like space shuttle Atlantis. But I've convinced that if we can solve problems like repairing Hubble, getting into space, doing the servicing we do, traveling 17,500 mph around the Earth, that we can achieve other great things like solving our energy problems and our climate problems," he said.

"I want to wish Hubble a new set of adventures, and with the new instruments that we installed, that it may unlock further mysteries of the universe."

NASA astronaut Dan Burbank radioed congratulations up from the Mission Control Center in Houston.

"There's a lot of happy folks down here on the ground," Burbank said.

"We just look back and kind of marvel at the last five days and all the amazing work -- electronic brain surgery, and I don't know how else you can put it -- that you guys accomplished on that telescope. And Hubble's never had it better. It's never been more capable, and it's just been a marvel to watch you guys do this," he said.

Atlantis mission commander Scott Altman urged Grunsfeld -- an astronomer-turned-astronaut who has served on three Hubble repair missions -- to seize the day.

"John, remember take a moment here. This is it spacewalk on Hubble and maybe our last visit to space. so enjoy this. you earned it," Altman said.

"Thanks for those kind words," Grunsfeld replied. "We really have achieved a lot out here."

NASA astronauts have performed 23 spacewalks servicing Hubble, tallying 166 hours and six minutes of work on the observatory. Hubble launched in April 1990.

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Bolden meeting with Obama pushed till Tuesday
Former astronaut Charles Bolden had his meeting with President Barack Obama pushed back until Tuesday morning.

The two were supposed to meet at 2 p.m. today, but an earlier appointment Obama had with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu ran long. That prompted the White House to postpone its meeting with Bolden, who is believed to be the top contender for the NASA administrator post.

"The visit with Mr. Bolden will be tomorrow morning," said White House spokesman Robert Gibbs during today’s press briefing.

Asked a bit later about the nature of that meeting, Gibbs said he didn't want to get ahead of the president.

"But I know he's anxious to have strong leadership at NASA," he said. "I think we've all watched and read about the mission that's going on right now and the amazing efforts that are being undertaken with consecutive, multi-hour spacewalks to repair the Hubble telescope. So we may have something after that meeting, but not until then."

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Shuttle Crew Bids Hubble Adieu
The Atlantis astronauts aim to send NASA's Hubble Space Telescope on to new voyages of discovery today after winding up five spacewalks that raised the observatory to new scientific heights.

With the four-story telescope fixed to the end of a 50-foot robot arm, shuttle mission specialist Megan McArthur will cast the 19-year-old observatory back into its operational orbit 350 miles above the planet.

Then the astronauts will zoom off, leaving Hubble with two powerful new science instruments, two others that spacewalkers repaired, and new gear that should enable the iconic observatory to operate another five to 10 years.

NASA's fifth and final Hubble servicing crew pulled off the improbable.

"On this mission, we tried some things that many people said were not possible," Atlantis mission specialist John Grunsfeld said Monday.

"But we've achieved that, and we wish Hubble the very best," he said, adding, "I want to wish Hubble a new set of adventures" that will "unlock further mysteries of the universe."

Here's a look at the coming day in space:

4:31 a.m.: Crew wakes.

6:16 a.m.: Shuttle robot arm grapples Hubble.

7:11 a.m.: Hubble unberth maneuver.

8:16 a.m. Hubble aperture door opens.

8:53 a.m. Hubble release.

9:26 a.m.: Atlantis departs Hubble vicinity.

9:51 a.m.: Flight Support System stowage.

11:11 a.m.: Shuttle robot arm grapple inspection boom.

12:51 p.m.: Shuttle heat shield inspection.

8:31 p.m.: Crew sleep.

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Hubble Freed From Payload Bay             

                            
Atlantis astronauts have unlocked three latches holding the Hubble Space Telescope to its base in the shuttle's payload bay.

Usinga 50-foot robotic arm, mission specialist Megan McArthur gently liftedthe four-story observatory from the Flight Support System at 7:26 a.m.EDT.


She'll gradually swing the telescope over the shuttle's starboard sideand release it back into space near 9 a.m. EDT, hopefully positioningit for another five to 10 years of cutting edge science observations.

CommanderScott Altman has disabled Atlantis' forward and rear thruster jets toensure they don't fire during the delicate maneuvers, placing theorbiter in "free drift."


After Hubble is released in orbit about 350 miles above Earth, Atlantiswill dive down more than 100 miles to an altitude closer to theInternational Space Station's.

That will reduce the chance ofa strike from space debris, and put Atlantis on the proper trajectoryfor its planned 10:03 a.m. landing at Kennedy Space Center.

Thetime of Hubble's release has been adjusted slightly to 8:57 p.m. EDT.That ensures good radio communication, though TV images will not beimmediately available. The deployment procedure has a 17-minute window.

Here are some more before-and-after photos of the "unberthing" maneuver.


Before.




After.

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Atlantis "go" to release Hubble

                            
Atlantis astronauts have a "go" to release the Hubble Space Telescope just before 9 a.m.

Leadshuttle flight director Tony Ceccacci polled team members in NASA'sMission Control Center in Houston and the Space Telescope OperationsControl Center in Maryland before giving mission commander Scott Altmanand robotic arm operator Megan McArthur the go-ahead.

Release is set for 8:57 a.m. EDT.

The observatory's aperture door has been opened to allow its instruments to see starlight.

TVpictures may not be immediately available, but you can listen to therelease unfold live by clicking on the picture above to launch a NASATV viewer.

Click "Read more..." to see some pictures showing how Atlantis adjusted its orientation for release.

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Farewell, Hubble             

                            
Note: updated at 9:35 a.m. with crew comments, images.
Humans have released the Hubble Space Telescope from their grasp for the last time.

Onschedule at 8:57 a.m., space shuttle Atlantis mission specialist MeganMcArthur commanded the orbiter's robotic arm to let go of the19-year-old observatory.


The two spacecraft were orbiting 350 miles above the Atlantic Ocean, approaching the coast of Africa.

"Hubblehas been released," commander Scott Altman radioed to Houston minuteslater. "Now Hubble can continue on its own, exploring the cosmos andbringing them to us, as we head for home in a few days."


"Congratulations on a great series of spacewalks," replied spacecraftcommunicator Dan Burbank from Houston. "It's wonderful to see Hubble,the most famous science instrument of all time, newly upgraded andready for action thanks to you."

The seven-member Atlantiscrew was the fifth and last shuttle crew to repair and upgrade Hubblesince it launched in April 1990.

Sixteen astronauts logged more than 166 hours of spacewalks during the five servicing missions.


The STS-125 crew on Monday completed the last of five highly successfulspacewalks on five consecutive days, leaving Hubble with two newstate-of-the-art science instruments and two more brought back to lifefrom power failures.

"Thanks to all of your extraordinaryefforts, Hubble is now better than new!" mission managers wrote innotes to the crew today.

Pilot Gregory Johnson guided Atlantis through the a very slight first separation burn to ease the shuttle away from Hubble.

Then at 9:28 a.m., he accelerated the separation with a second burn, pushing Atlantis at rate of about six feet per second.

Another burn to drop Atlantis to a lower altitude - one where there is less space debris - is scheduled around 11 a.m.

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Atlantis Drops to Less Cluttered Orbit
Atlantis pilot Gregory "Ray J." Johnson fired the shuttle's twin orbital maneuvering engines for more than two minutes to drop Atlantis into space less cluttered by debris for half of its orbit.

The move, completed at 11:02 a.m. EDT, came about 90 minutes after a final thruster burn pushed Atlantis away from the Hubble Space Telescope, which the crew released just before 9 a.m.

The fifth and final Hubble servicing mission faced an above average risk of a catastrophic hit from micrometeoroids and orbiting debris, or MMOD.

The odds were 1 in 229, compared to about 1 in 300 for a mission to the International Space Station.

Hubble's orbit of about 350 miles above Earth has more debris floating in it than the International Space Station's orbit more than 100 miles below.

Atlantis' engine burn dropped the low point of its orbit from 350 miles to 184 miles above the planet.

The move was one of the steps managers devised to keep the mission's odds better than a 1-in-200 threshold that would have required approval from top NASA officials.

A little before 1 p.m., Atlantis will begin a final inspection of its heat shields to make sure debris hasn't damaged them during the flight's first nine days.

As on the mission's second day, the astronauts will attach a 50-foot boom to the shuttle's robotic arm. Equipped with cameras and laser sensors, the boom will scan the orbiter's wing leading edges, nose cap and belly.

By Wednesday, analysts should know whether there's any damage needing repair or whether Atlantis is cleared for a planned 10:03 a.m. Friday landing at Kennedy Space Center.

A clean inspection would also release Endeavour from its role as a rescue shuttle.

Endeavour been standing by on launch pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center in case Atlantis sustained irreparable damage, because the Atlantis crew cannot reach the space station for shelter.

If cleared, Endeavour will roll to pad 39A later this month to prepare for a targeted June 13 launch to the station.

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NASA Preps For Rescue Countdown
NASA will start up a three-day countdown Wednesday to launch of shuttle Endeavour and a rescue crew just in case a heat shield inspection on Atlantis today turns up damage that might endanger its Hubble Space Telescope servicing crew during atmospheric reentry.

Countdown clocks at Kennedy Space Center will pick up at 6 a.m. Wednesday at the T-Minus 43 hour mark -- the standard start point for a three-day launch countdown with several build-in holds.

Four astronauts now are in quarantine at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston and would fly to KSC if shuttle program managers call up a rescue mission.

External tank fuel-loading operations would start Friday night.

Veteran shuttle mission commander Chris Ferguson and his crew -- which includes pilot Eric Boe and mission specialists Stephen Bowen and Shane Kimbrough -- would blast off from launch pad 39B at 7:34 a.m. Saturday.

NASA's launch team at Kennedy and an STS-400 flight control team have been prepping for the rescue mission as if it actually will be launched.

The Atlantis astronauts just started a survey of the shuttle's port and starboard wings as well as its nose cap. The inspection is aimed at detecting any micrometeorite or space debris hits Atlantis might have sustained since a similar survey on the second day of its flight.

Back at KSC, engineers last night pressurized 24 tanks which store gases that push propellant into the shuttle's main propulsion and its orbital maneuvering system engines.

The operation was significant because it presents a safety hazard to ground operations workers. The pressure vessels could rupture with catastrophic consequences, so pad 39B has been cleared of all but essential personnel. All tours of the pad area have been temporarily halted.

Imagery and laser data beamed back from the Atlantis heat shield inspection will be analyzed overnight, and NASA's Mission Management Team will meet Wednesday to determine whether a rescue mission will be required.

If not, Endeavour will be cleared to move to pad 39A, where it is scheduled to blast off June 13 on a mission to deliver the third and final section of the Kibo science research facility to the International Space Station.

The roll-around to pad 39A will open up pad 39B for the Ares I-X test flight, which is scheduled for launch No Earlier Than Aug. 30.

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Atlantis inspects heat shields again
Another heat shield inspection will take up the remainder of the Atlantis crew's day, which began with release of the Hubble Space Telescope this morning.

The orbiter's wing leading edges, nose cap and belly tiles were previously cleared of damage that could have occurred during a May 11 launch from Kennedy Space Center.

But as part of standard procedures instituted after the loss of Columbia in 2003, a "late" inspection follows that earlier one to make sure micrometeoroids or orbital debris haven't struck the spaceship.

The process officially began at 1:18 p.m., starting with 22 reinforced carbon carbon panels covering the right wing leading edge. It will move on to the nose cap and then left wing leading edge.

The shuttle's 50-foot extension boom is equipped with cameras and laser sensors. Scans of the shields will be downlinked almost in real time to analysts on the ground in Houston who will scour them for evidence of damage.

Managers should know Wednesday if Atlantis will be cleared for re-entry through Earth's atmosphere Friday morning, or if any possible damage needs a closer look and potentially a repair.

In the unlikely event that major, irreparable damage is discovered, Endeavour is still standing by as a rescue ship on launch pad 39B at KSC.

Atlantis' planned 11-day mission is currently scheduled to end with a 10:03 a.m. Friday landing at the Florida spaceport.

The mission can be extended up to two days if weather interferes with landing opportunities.

As the crew begins its heat shield inspections, it is also raising the crew cabin's air pressure back up to sea level, or 14.7 pounds per square inch.

The pressure was lowered to 10.2 psi before five spacewalks began last Thursday. That significantly reduced the time spacewalkers needed to breathe pure oxygen before they exited the shuttle airlock. The pre-breathe procedure purges nitrogen from their systems to prevent decompression sickness.

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Obama meets with Bolden to discuss NASA
President Barack Obama met today with former astronaut Charles Bolden, who is believed to be the leading candidate to lead the space agency.

"The president and General Bolden met today in the Roosevelt Room and the two spoke about their mutual support for space exploration as well as ways to make NASA a stronger and more vibrant organization in the future," a White House official said. "The president reiterated his belief that NASA must continue to succeed and the two discussed General Bolden's vision for NASA's future."

No further details were available.

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs earlier told a briefing that he didn't have any information on the outcome of the meeting. But he gave the clearest indication yet that Bolden is being considered for the job.

"I think the president ... hopes that he's the right person to lead NASA in the coming years and through its evolving role," Gibbs said.

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Rest for Atlantis
It's a well-deserved day off for seven Atlantis astronauts today, after releasing the Hubble Space Telescope and inspecting heat shields Tuesday.

The crew already got ahead of schedule and took care of the one main task that had been planned for this morning, stowing the 50-foot boom used for the inspections.

The crew will take a half-hour to answer questions from reporters, and later place a call to the crew of the International Space Station.

You can watch those events live here on The Flame Trench. Click on the picture above to launch a NASA TV viewer.

Another important call could be coming from mission managers by this afternoon. They'll let the crew know if Tuesday's inspections revealed any signs of debris damage to Atlantis, or if the orbiter is cleared for landing a planned 10:03 a.m. Friday landing at Kennedy Space Center.

Today's light schedule was being tweaked slightly, including a slightly earlier wake-up time for the crew. Here's how it looked late Tuesday:

++ 4:01 a.m.: Crew wakes.
++ 8:31 a.m.: Off duty period begins.
++ 10:26 a.m.: Crew news conference.
++ 12:06 p.m.: Ship-to-ship call between Atlantis and International Space Station crews.
++ 7:01 p.m.: Crew sleeps.

Two afternoon press conferences are scheduled from Johnson Space Center in Houston: a mission status briefing at 2 p.m., and a post-Mission Management Team briefing at 4 p.m.
http://www.floridatoday.com/content/blogs/space/