By: Alan McBride
Source: 540wfla.com
Atlantis astronauts John Grunsfeld and Drew Feustel are taking the first of five spacewalks set for the course of the Atlantis mission to Hubble Thursday.
The two astronauts will remove Hubble’s Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 from the orbiting observatory and replace it with the new Wide Field Camera 3. The Widefield Planetary Camera 3 represents a dramatic improvement in capability over previous Hubble cameras, incorporating a capacity to use visible light, as well as light in both the infrared and ultraviolet wavelengths.
Grunsfeld and Feustel are expected to spend a roughly six and a half hours outside Atlantis, freeing up the Widefield Planetary Camera 2 and installing its replacement.
