The Space Shuttle Program’s Flight Readiness Review concluded Tuesday, setting the stage for the executive-level review at the Kennedy Space Center, which begins April 30. Following the final review, a firm launch date for the STS-125 mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope will be set. Launch is currently targeted for May 12 at 1:31 p.m. EDT.
At NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, the STS-125 astronauts continue to train for the upcoming mission. Tuesday, Mission Specialists Mike Massimino and Michael Good rehearsed inside the tank at the Neutral Buoyancy Lab for the mission’s fourth spacewalk. Follow Massimino’s personal accounts of training on http://twitter.com/Astro_Mike.
At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the rotating service structure at Launch Pad 39A surrounds space shuttle Atlantis, where payload operations continue throughout the week. With Atlantis’ payload bay doors now open, technicians are loading the hardware necessary for the servicing mission.