Science Channel's 'Hubble Live: The Final Mission' May 11 a no miss

By April MacIntyre May 5, 2009, 15:28 GMT

The star Fomalhaut and the Jupiter-type planet that the Hubble Space Telescope observed. The image, released by NASA 13 November 2008, shows the newly discovered planet, Fomalhaut b, orbiting the 200-million-year-old star (every 872 years). Estimated to be no more than three times Jupiter\'s mass, the planet orbits the bright southern star Fomalhaut, located 25 light-years away in the constellation Piscis Australis, or the "Southern Fish." Fomalhaut has been a candidate for planet hunting ever since an excess of dust was discovered around the star in the early 1980s by NASA\'s Infrared Astronomy Satellite, IRAS. EPA/NASA

Science Channel will broadcast live coverage of the fourth and final space shuttle mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope with Hubble Live: The Final Mission airing Monday, May 11, 2009, at 1:30 PM (ET) / 10:30 AM (PT).

The broadcast will re-air at 9p after the special The Ends of the Earth: Hubble's Final Chapter at 8p.

Science Channel notes, though, the live coverage is contingent on NASA's launch of the Shuttle Atlantis as launch date and/or time is subject to change.

The Science Channel is a network devoted to revealing the incredible possibilities of science, from string theory and futuristic cities to accidental discoveries and outrageous inventions.

Originating from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., Science Channel's live coverage of the launch of the Space Shuttle Atlantis, Hubble Live: The Final Mission, will feature in-depth, exclusive analysis from NASA astrophysicist and space telescope expert Dr. Kim Weaver and former NASA astronaut Paul William Richards.

The network will feature live NASA coverage from the launch site at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., and the Mission Control Center at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

"Science Channel is the home for live coverage of defining moments in science like this mission to repair one of NASA's historically important space exploration tools," said Debbie Myers, Science Channel general manager. "No other network lends expert perspective to these important scientific moments, or can explain what each means to the lives of viewers quite like the Science Channel."

The astronauts are scheduled to install a Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3), a Cosmic Origins Spectograph (COS) and several other instruments a level of repair never attempted before in space. If successful, the WFC3 will improve the telescope's sensitivity to visible, infrared and ultraviolet light by 10-30 times, and the COS will improve Hubble's sensitivity by ten times.

The Hubble Space Telescope has served as humanity's eye on the universe since 1990.

The imagery the telescope yielded unquestionably has altered scientists' views of the cosmos and helped to answer important questions.

The Ends of the Earth: Hubble's Final Chapter, premiering Monday, May 11 at 8 PM (ET) explores the telescope's rich history with interviews from NASA astronauts Mike Massimino and John Grunsfeld, members of the seven person crew assigned to repair Hubble, and with never-before-seen high-definition footage of the underwater training the crew undertook for more than one year.