Comments on: The Big Picture: Hubble Repair

By: bill anderson

bill anderson — Fri, 08 May 2009 17:24:32 +0000

what happens if they strip the screw head off during removal? will they then use a drill bit to drill the head off or what

By: Gary Ansorge

Gary Ansorge — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 16:19:07 +0000

Johnny Vector: Excellent post. I had forgot that the ’scope wasn’t anticipated to ever have maintenance.
That explains a lot.

Thanks,

GAry 7

By: 01101001

01101001 — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 00:47:22 +0000

BA: “01101001, why do you assume I haven’t read up on the screws? I know they will be contained in a bag-like device; that’s actually made clear in the photo I linked to.”

Oh, sorry. When you used “replace” you meant substitute something different for the 111 screws, i.e. the easy new cover with the latches. I thought you meant “put the 111 screws back in place” and I suspect others may have read it that way, too.

By: Johnny Vector

Johnny Vector — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 20:19:48 +0000

@Amos

Well, you might say that. And you might be right. Let’s just say that once we get the ACS Repair hardware down to the cape next week, I’m going to take a short vacation before the launch.

And no problem on the specific names of the tools. It’s hard enough keeping the names straight even working with them on a regular basis.

By: Amos Kenigsberg

Amos Kenigsberg — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 20:12:24 +0000

@Johnny Vector
I was afraid you might say that — they did sound awfully similar. Are you in an especially good position to know — e.g., work for NASA? You can email me, if you’d like: akenigsberg@discovermagazine.com.

By: Johnny Vector

Johnny Vector — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 18:38:11 +0000

Hi Amos,

The photo in your gallery is actually the STIS “Fastener Capture Plate”. There is a separate screw capture tool (I think that’s what it’s called, but the name may be slightly different), used to take out four larger (#10-32) screws in the ACS repair. It looks like a screwdriver with a little claw that reaches out to grab the screw as you remove it. Not nearly as photogenic as the FCP, for sure. Good article.

We briefly considered using ants to sort the screws, but Dan Castellaneta wasn’t available, and Hubble only hires the best!

By: Amos Kenigsberg

Amos Kenigsberg — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 17:39:38 +0000

Howdy. I'm DISCOVER's Web editor -- i.e., vassal of The Hive Overmind. I hear all of you on the RSS difficulties, and we'll work out a better approach. Thanks for the abundant feedback. As for the post, all of this talk of screws makes me inevitably think of Deep Space Homer: "You fool! Now we may never know if ants can be trained to sort tiny screws in space." DISCOVER mag (and Web site) recently covered the save-the-Hubble mission, focusing on Massimino. The last picture in the story's photo gallery shows a "screw capture tool," similar to what BA and 01101001 are talking about.