STS-125 - Mission History

Mission History

The fifth servicing mission to Hubble, HST-SM4, was originally scheduled to launch in late 2005 or early 2006. On 16 January 2004, then-NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe canceled the mission, as well as any future missions to Hubble, citing safety constraints imposed by the Columbia Accident Investigation Board. During the announcement, O'Keefe stated that it was his decision alone, and not a recommendation from any other departments. The decision was widely criticized by the media, the science community, and those in NASA. Maryland Senator Barbara Mikulski, a member of the Senate subcommittee that oversees NASA's budget, publicly accused O'Keefe of making a decision outside the transparency process against the wishes of the science community, and stated she would work to reverse the decision. In March 2004, Representative Mark Udall introduced a bill to the House of Representatives that requested an independent panel of experts review O'Keefe's decision to cancel the servicing mission. Also in March 2004, Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) Director Stephen Beckwith released the results of the Hubble Ultra-Deep Field survey to the entire science community, which helped show the public how important Hubble was to science. The data showed the deepest images ever taken by a telescope and revealed approximately 10,000 galaxies, some of which most likely dated back to when the universe was just five hundred million years old. With Beckwith when he released the data to the scientific community was Mikulski, who said of the results, "I think it's just amazing... this is why I will continue to stand up for Hubble."

Joining Mikulski as an advocate for servicing Hubble was NASA's Chief Scientist, physicist John Grunsfeld, who was present at the meeting when O'Keefe announced the cancellation of the mission. A veteran astronaut of four shuttle missions, including two Hubble servicing missions, Grunsfeld had devoted years to Hubble, and was very disappointed when O'Keefe canceled the mission. He briefly considered retiring from NASA, but realized if he stayed, he could continue to advance physics in other ways. Instead, Grunsfeld dedicated himself to finding alternate ways to service the telescope, possibly by sending a robot into orbit to do the job. When O'Keefe announced his resignation as Administrator in December 2004, five days after a National Academy of Sciences committee opposed O'Keefe's position regarding servicing Hubble, the media and science community saw hope for the telescope's servicing mission to be reinstated.

O'Keefe's replacement, former NASA Administrator Michael D. Griffin took just two months after his appointment to announce that he disagreed with O'Keefe's decision, and would consider sending a shuttle to repair Hubble. As an engineer, Griffin had previously worked on Hubble's construction, and respected the discoveries the telescope brought to the science community. He agreed with the National Academy of Sciences that a robotic mission was not feasible, and said that in light of the "Return to Flight" changes made following the Columbia accident, a shuttle mission to repair Hubble should be reassessed. After the successes of the Return to Flight STS-114 and STS-121 missions, and the lessons learned and improvements made following those missions, managers and engineers worked to formulate a plan that would allow the shuttle to service Hubble, while still adhering to the post-Columbia safety requirements.

On 31 October 2006, Griffin announced that the Hubble servicing mission was reinstated, scheduled for 2008, and announced the crew that would fly the mission, which included Grunsfeld. Senator Mikulski expressed her delight at the news, stating "The Hubble telescope has been the greatest telescope since Galileo invented the first one. It has gone to look at places in the universe that we didn't know existed before."

New Yorker and dedicated New York Mets fan, Mike Massimino, brought the home plate from Shea Stadium along on the mission. He was forced to slightly alter the plate to allow it to fit into the locker designated for memorabilia. Massimino presented the plate back to the Mets management upon return and threw out the first pitch there. The plate is now on display at Citi Field.