Space junk raises risks for Hubble repair mission

Tuesday, May 12, 2009 - 16:07 in Astronomy & Space

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Space shuttle Atlantis is now in a rough orbital neighborhood - a place littered with thousands of pieces of space junk zipping around the Earth at nearly 20,000 mph. There are more pieces of shattered satellites and used-up rockets in this region than astronauts have ever encountered. And the crew must be there for more than a week to repair the Hubble Space Telescope. As soon as the job is complete, the shuttle will scamper to safety....

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