NASA 'elated' as shuttle captures Hubble telescope

With the Hubble Space Telescope safely tucked into the payload bay of the space shuttle Atlantis, the crew is now getting ready for their first spacewalk tomorrow to begin repairing and upgrading the orbiter.

"After 19 years, it still looks to be in amazing shape," said Jon Morse, astrophysics division director during a press conference this afternoon. "There was such a feeling of elation. It was truly a wonderful sight ... the telescope on the end of the grapple arm with the Earth in the background. It was an amazing sight."

The space shuttle caught up to the telescope, which was launched in 1990, as it orbited 350 miles above the Earth's surface around noon EDT today. Once the shuttle closed in on Hubble, the crew worked to maneuver the vehicle in a sort of outer space dance so it aligned up perfectly with the space telescope. At that point, astronaut Megan McArthur used the shuttle's 52-foot robotic arm to grab hold of the telescope and gently pull it into the Atlantis payload bay.

"Houston, Hubble has arrived onboard," an astronaut reported soon after the telescope was safely stowed. "Nice job, Megan," came the reply from Mission Control.

The telescope, which has changed the way astronomy is taught because of its discoveries, will be held inside the bay for the duration of the crew's repair mission. The telescope will be able to rotate on a sort of high-tech lazy Susan called a Flight Support System, giving astronauts easier access to different areas on the orbiter during the planned five spacewalks.

As of 3 p.m. EDT today, the crew was using cameras fixed on the robotic arm to inspect the outside of the Hubble. It was last serviced in 2002.

The space shuttle Atlantis blasted off from the Kennedy Space Center on Monday afternoon. This week's shuttle mission -- the last one going to the Hubble -- is expected to give the orbiter at least another five years of life, according to the space agency.

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