Nova - Hubble's Amazing Rescue

Nova
Hubble's Amazing Rescue
[2009]










Muy bueno este documental de la serie Nova, sobre la reciente misión de la NASA para reparar el telescopio espacial Hubble. En teoría fue la última visita de mantenimiento, incluyendo algún tipo de reparaciones que no se habían hecho con anterioridad.
En particular, me resultó interesante el contraste entre la alta teconología y la necesidad de improvisar con un "Rompé, Pepe, rompé". También otros detalles sobre como es trabajar en el espacio, que no había escuchado antes.

If I am trying to push this object, and I get this object moving... ok, it´s moving... but now, it starts to pull me.
Have I planned to have something to stop me from going that way? And if I have not... I'm gone


The best place to practice space walking is in Houston, Texas: the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory.
200 feet long, 100 feet wide, 40 feet deep, 6 million gallons of water.


But even this is still a far cry from true weightlessness.
Water is zero buoyancy but it's not zero G. When I'm in space, I float inside the suit. It floats, I float.


It's what they call coreography, and it's all about time. (...)
All of those things add up to seconds, and minutes. And those minutes add up quickly to ten, fifteen, thirty minutes.


DREW:It's not truning!
Mass, the MTL [torque limitator] is slipping
MASS: Try without MTL at all
DREW: What are the implications if I over-torque and break the bolt?
MASS: You sure you want to know?


No replacements exist (...) The only hope is to try repairs in space. Something no one ever has done before.
(...) How do you remove 117 tiny screws that are weightless wearing clumsy gloves and guarantee that not one falls into the telescope? (...) They create remarkable new tools to fix Hubble


The tool, the light that would normally be on, it isn't working. There's going to be a big debrief to discuss that.
(...)
You know, we've spent all this time and money and effort to do this. But if I can't see the fastender, it don't matter 'cos it ain't gonna work!. (...) Of all this stuff we are doing... the thing I really need is a light!



Spacewalk number 3 includes the hardest job of the entire mission, repairing the advanced camera.


Card one is out!


This initial task, the one that has been almost trivial in every prep, you know, zip, zip, zip, zip.... one of the bolts is completely messed up.


That's not something we do in space, you know, we just don't break things off. There's all sorts of hazards to that.
(...)
Houston, are you ready for this?


The day after the final spacewalk, Hubble was released back into its own orbit.


It's been a stunning success. We've now got two new instruments, two repaired instruments, new batteries, new thermal blankets, new gyros, new guidance sensors... We have a new telescope!