Hello, old friend - Part 3 (viewing Hubble)

Following a tour of the Enterprise exhibit, the participants then got a look of Hubble@25, which is showcased at the Intrepid until Sept. 14, 2015.

As noted in the brochure,

The Hubble@25 exhibition features rarely seen original artifacts, stellar photographs, Hubble-produced images and immersive envrionments that showcase the history of the project and reveal its unparalleled scientific achievements.

Indeed,  at 12:30 p.m. Monday through Friday is an educational program, "What does Hubble do?" which answers that very question.

Of course, no Hubble exhibit would be complete without the handhold that Massimino pulled from the telescope. The accompanying card notes, "Jagged edges from the end of the handle have been removed for metallurgical analysis so engineers can determine how the material held up to the rigors of space."

May not have been a primary objective, but hey, when life hands you a lemon....

There were a couple of artifacts that could be labeled as favorites of mine. There's the basketball that Edwin Hubble, the telescope's namesake, used as a forward in a 1909 game. Recreated concept drawings show the preliminary design for some of the tools used to repair Hubble, with the tool as built next to it.

Then there's the EVA checklist carried by Megan McArthur, as evidenced by the green stripe. She did not perform the spacewalk - Massimino, John Grunsfeld, Michael Good and Drew Feustel did in various pairs - but McArthur helped support the EVAs through operation of the shuttle's robotic arm.

Checklists are always fascinating to me, because there's so much that goes into the planning of a mission. I have two three- or four- inch binders with the flight data file for Missions 61F and 61G, which would have deployed a Centaur liquid-fueled upper stage from the space shuttle (later canceled following the Challenger accident.) Every minute of a flight is scripted, every detail taken into account. I forget the exact number, but I believe Massimino said he spent about 700 hours practicing for his spacewalk - which is a lot considering a typical EVA lasts about 6-1/2 hours.

All too soon, the Tweet-Up ended. Some of us got our pictures taken with Massimino, in addition to a group shot of all of us - I'm in the blue jacket in front of the guy with the outstretched hands:

I was glad to be chosen for the Tweet-Up, and just as glad to be able to use my journalistic skills and bring an account of that night for those that were unable to attend. Questions and comments are welcome!