STS-125 Atlantis final Hubble servicing mission

5/11/09 ~ 2:01 p.m.

The Space Shuttle Atlantis blasts off on mission STS-125, the final mission to service and upgrade the Hubble Space
Telescope, one of NASA's greatest legacies and triumphs. Canceled in the wake of the Columbia tragedy and then reinstated, the only
mission not to go to the ISS post-accident saw seven astronauts undertake one of the most ambitious shuttle missions in
history, with five spacewalks to install new and replace old components on Hubble. It was a closing chapter in one of the
original purposes of the shuttle. As a precaution, and for the final time, a second shuttle was placed on the neighboring Pad 39B,
ready to launch within a week if an emergency arises; unlike the ISS, there is no safe-haven at the telescope. Two shuttles were visible on the

 respective pads not once, but twice, as STS-125 rolled back and delayed from Fall 2008 to Spring 2009. The sunrise photos show STS-126 Endeavour

 on pad 39B; the hazy day shots show STS-127.