It was not without emotion that Hubble astronauts abandoned after successfully completing their mission of rejuvenation of the telescope. “The mission ends successfully. It’s really hard not to think of Hubble as a living thing, on the contrary, I think of him as a friend” told John Grunsfeld after its fifth and final output.

After Hubble was equipped with new gyros, batteries, thermal protection and installed a computer system more efficient than their last trip, the astronauts have redeployed the robotic arm of the shuttle Atlantis to release Hubble .

The telescope can now count only on itself because the fleet of space shuttles cease any activity from 2010 and the ship Orion, which commissioning is scheduled for 2016, will not be equipped with platform or robot arm .

The return to Earth of astronauts is scheduled for Friday May 22

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