Delay in Hubble space telescope repair

To see international photos, click here

WASHINGTON. - An announcement made by a spokesperson for the United States space agency NASA has indicated that the repair of the Hubble space telescope, which was scheduled to be finished in August of this year, has been delayed for several weeks. 

The spokesperson added that the launch of the U.S. space shuttle “Atlantis” towards the telescope, which was planned for the 28th of August, “must be postponed for four to five weeks” due to complications in constructing the spacecraft’s external tank.

“The launch will presumably take place at the end of September or beginning of October”.  The final decision will be made after the launch of the next mission at the end of May, he added.

The Hubble space telescope has been in orbit since 1990 at some 600 kilometers above the Earth and, until now, has been known for its spectacular images of deep space.  The scheduled repair will be the fifth and last serviced to the telescope.

The reparation of the Hubble is considered to be more difficult and clearly more risky than a “normal” space trip (in the International Space Station (ISS), for example).

Within the ISS, according to experts, astronauts can use the station as shelter in the case of a technical failure.