46th Test Wing integral part of Hubble repair

  • Published
  • By Leslie Brown
  • 96th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. (AFNS) --  May 13 is rendezvous time for the crew of the space shuttle Atlantis and the Hubble Space Telescope. But prior to reaching this point, months of preparation work was done for this mission and the 46th Test Wing played a vital role.

During the next week, astronauts will go on five spacewalks to repair the telescope for the last time. Part of the repair work includes replacing rate sensor units.

The RSUs contain gyroscopes tested at the 746th Test Squadron's Advanced Inertial Test Laboratory at Holloman AFB, N.M.

"The gyroscopes tested by the 746th Test Squadron is a perfect example of our wing's far-reaching capabilities and the importance of our mission," said Col. Gary Plumb, 46th TW commander. "These gyroscopes will allow the Hubble Space Telescope to continue to provide pertinent information advancing our knowledge of space."

The AITL tested the gyros as part of the flight qualification testing for each RSU. They are used for stabilization and navigation of the telescope.

The laboratory's unique ultra-low seismic environment meets NASA's strict standards for flight qualifications.

Every 97 minutes, Hubble completes a rotation around Earth, moving at the speed of about five miles per second -- fast enough to travel across the United States in about 10 minutes.

The entire first day of the five-day repair mission is dedicated to replacing the RSUs on Hubble. The length of time of the repair underscores just how difficult they are to get to as well as how important they are to the overall operation of the telescope.

Hubble was launched in 1990 and provides a view of the universe that typically far surpasses that of ground-based telescopes, according to Hubble's official Web site, http:// hubblesite.org. It has beamed hundreds of thousands of images back to Earth and its gaze has helped determine the age of the universe among other things.

This servicing mission will extend the life of the Hubble out to at least 2013.

"I am proud of the members of the wing who play such a vital role in expanding technology," Colonel Plumb said. 

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