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Space Reporter's Handbook Mission Supplement CBS News Space Reporter's Handbook - Mission Supplement Page 1 The CBS News Space Reporter's Handbook Mission Supplement Shuttle Mission STS-125: Hubble Space Telescope Servicing Mission 4 Written and Produced By William G. Harwood CBS News Space Analyst [email protected] CBS News 5/10/09 Page 2 CBS News Space Reporter's Handbook - Mission Supplement Revision History Editor's Note Mission-specific sections of the Space Reporter's Handbook are posted as flight data becomes available. Readers should check the CBS News "Space Place" web site in the weeks before a launch to download the latest edition: http://www.cbsnews.com/network/news/space/current.html DATE RELEASE NOTES 08/03/08 Initial STS-125 release 04/11/09 Updating to reflect may 12 launch; revised flight plan 04/15/09 Adding EVA breakdown; walkthrough 04/23/09 Updating for 5/11 launch target date 04/30/09 Adding STS-400 details from FRR briefing 05/04/09 Adding trajectory data; abort boundaries; STS-400 launch windows Introduction This document is an outgrowth of my original UPI Space Reporter's Handbook, prepared prior to STS-26 for United Press International and updated for several flights thereafter due to popular demand. The current version is prepared for CBS News. As with the original, the goal here is to provide useful information on U.S. and Russian space flights so reporters and producers will not be forced to rely on government or industry public affairs officers at times when it might be difficult to get timely responses. All of these data are available elsewhere, of course, but not necessarily in one place. The STS-125 version of the CBS News Space Reporter's Handbook was compiled from NASA news releases, JSC flight plans, the Shuttle Flight Data and In-Flight Anomaly List, NASA Public Affairs and the Flight Dynamics office (abort boundaries) at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. Sections of NASA's STS-125 press kit, crew bios and the mission TV schedule are downloaded via the Internet, formatted and included in this document. Word-for-word passages (other than lists) are clearly indicated. The SRH is a work in progress and while every effort is made to insure accuracy, errors are inevitable in a document of this nature and readers should double check critical data before publication. As always, questions, comments and suggestions for improvements are always welcome. And if you spot a mistake or a typo, please let me know! Written, Compiled and Edited By William G. Harwood CBS News Space Consultant LC-39 Press Site Kennedy Space Center, Florida 32899 [email protected] 5/10/09 CBS News CBS News Space Reporter's Handbook - Mission Supplement Page 3 Table of Contents Topic Page NASA Media Information ...............................................................................................4 NASA Public Affairs Contacts .........................................................................................5 STS-125: Internet Pages of Interest ..................................................................................5 CBS News STS-125 Mission Preview ..............................................................................7 STS-125 Mission Priorities ...........................................................................................27 STS-125 Spacewalk Overview ......................................................................................29 Hubble Space Telescope EVA History ...........................................................................50 STS-400: Just in Case ...................................................................................................51 A Brief History of the Hubble Space Telescope .............................................................63 Reflections on Hubble .................................................................................................79 NASA STS-125 Mission Overview ................................................................................83 NASA STS-125 Payload Overview ................................................................................87 STS-125: Quick-Look Mission Data ...........................................................................103 STS-125: Quick-Look Program Statistics .....................................................................104 STS-125 NASA Crew Thumbnails ...............................................................................105 Current Space Demographics (post Soyuz TMA-14) ...................................................106 Projected Space Demographics (post STS-125) ...........................................................107 Space Fatalities ..........................................................................................................108 STS-125/ISS-19 NASA Crew Biographies ....................................................................109 1. Commander: Scott D. Altman, 49 ...................................................................109 2. Pilot: Gregory C. Johnson, 54 .........................................................................111 3. MS-1/EV-4: Air Force Capt. Michael T. Good, 46 .............................................113 4. MS2/FE/RMS: Megan McArthur, Ph.D., 37 .......................................................115 5. MS3/EV1: John Grunsfeld, 50 ..........................................................................117 6. MS4/EV-3: Michael Massimino, Ph.D., 46 .......................................................119 7. MS5/EV-2: Andrew J. Feustel, Ph.D., 43 ..........................................................121 8. ISS-19 Commander: Gennady Ivanovich Padalka, 50 ......................................123 9. ISS-19 FE: Koichi Wakata (Japan), 45 ...............................................................125 10. ISS-19 FE: Michael Barratt, M.D., 50 .............................................................127 STS-125 Crew Photographs ........................................................................................129 ISS-19 Crew Photographs ...........................................................................................130 STS-125/400 Launch Windows ..................................................................................131 STS-125 Launch and Flight Control Personnel ............................................................132 STS-125 Flight Hardware/Software .............................................................................135 Atlantis Flight History .................................................................................................136 STS-125 Countdown Timeline ....................................................................................137 STS-125 Weather Guidelines .....................................................................................141 STS-125 Ascent Events Summary ...............................................................................145 STS-125 Trajectory Data .............................................................................................146 STS-125 Flight Plan ....................................................................................................149 STS-125 Television Schedule ......................................................................................157 Appendix 1: Space Shuttle Flight and Abort Scenarios ...............................................163 Appendix 2: STS-51L and STS-107 .............................................................................175 Appendix 3: NASA Acronyms ....................................................................................211 CBS News 5/10/09 Page 4 CBS News Space Reporter's Handbook - Mission Supplement NASA Media Information NASA Television Transmission NASA Television is now carried on an MPEG-2 digital signal accessed via satellite AMC-6, at 72 degrees west longitude, transponder 17C, 4040 MHz, vertical polarization. A Digital Video Broadcast (DVB) - compliant Integrated Receiver Decoder (IRD) with modulation of QPSK/DBV, data rate of 36.86 and FEC 3/4 is needed for reception. NASA TV Multichannel Broadcast includes: Public Services Channel (Channel 101); the Education Channel (Channel 102) and the Media Services Channel (Channel 103). The new Digital NASA TV will have four digital channels: 1. NASA Public Service ("Free to Air"), featuring documentaries, archival programming, and coverage of NASA missions and events; 2. NASA Education Services ("Free to Air/Addressable"), dedicated to providing educational programming to schools, educational institutions and museums; 3. NASA Media Services ("Addressable"), for broadcast news organizations; and 4. NASA Mission Operations (Internal Only) The new digital NASA Public Service Channel will be streamed on the Web. All you'll need is access to a computer. ... You may want to check with your local cable or satellite service provider whether it plans to continue carrying the NASA Public Service "Free to Air" Channel. If your C-Band-sized satellite dish is capable of receiving digital television signals, you'll still need a Digital Video Broadcast (DVB)-compliant MPEG-2 Integrated Receiver Decoder, or IRD, to get the new Digital NASA's Public Service "Free to Air" Channel. An IRD that receives "Free to Air" programming like the new Digital NASA Public Service Channel can be purchased from many sources, including "off-the-shelf" at your local electronics store. The new Digital NASA TV will be on the same satellite (AMC 6) as current analog NASA TV, but on a different transponder (17). In Alaska and Hawaii,
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