June 7, 2007

Allard Beutel Headquarters, Washington 202-358-4769

James Hartsfield Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111

RELEASE: 07-135

NASA UPDATES SHUTTLE TARGET LAUNCH DATE FOR HUBBLE MISSION

HOUSTON - NASA managers officially are targeting Sept 10, 2008, for the launch of the fifth and final space shuttle servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope During the 11-day flight, Atlantis' seven astronauts will repair and improve the observatory's capabilities through 2013

Mission planners have been working since last fall, when the flight was announced, to determine the best time in the shuttle manifest to support the needs of Hubble while minimizing the impact to International Space Station assembly NASA also will support a "launch on need" flight during the Hubble mission In the unlikely event a rescue flight becomes necessary, shuttle Endeavour currently is planned to lift off from Launch Pad 39-B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla However, managers constantly are evaluating the manifest to determine the best mission options

Shuttle missions beyond the Hubble flight still are being assessed Shuttle and station program officials will continue to consider options for the remainder of the shuttle flights to complete construction of the space station by 2010, when the fleet will be retired Those target launch dates are subject to change The complete shuttle launch manifest is available online at:

http://www nasa gov/mission_pages/station/structure/iss_manifest html

The Hubble Space Telescope is an international cooperative project between NASA and the European Space Agency For more information about Hubble, visit:

http://www nasa gov/hubble

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