The Hubble Space Telescope’s (HST) Servicing Mission 4 (SM4), flown by the Shuttle Atlantis in May 2009, was the last scheduled shuttle mission for HST (launched 11th of May 2009, STS-125). SM4 installed the replacement data-handling unit, repaired the ACS and STIS systems, installed improved nickel hydrogen batteries, and replaced other components including all six gyroscopes. SM4 also installed two new observation instruments Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) and the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) and the Soft Capture and Rendezvous System, which will enable the future rendezvous, capture, and safe disposal of Hubble by either a crewed or robotic mission.[130] Except for the ACS’s High-Resolution Channel, which could not be repaired and was disabled, the work accomplished during SM4 rendered the telescope fully functional. We celebrate this feat of technology with an image of two small Lego models …
May 11
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