Shuttle reaches Hubble telescope 航天飞机到达哈勃轨道

Space shuttle Atlantis has reached the Hubble telescope, orbiting at a height of 560km (350 miles) above the Earth.

阿特兰蒂斯号航天飞机已经到达哈勃望远镜处，轨道高度为距离地球560km。

The shuttle crew completed a delicate dance of manoeuvres intended to align¹（对齐） Atlantis' robotic arm（机械手） with the telescope during their approach.

The arm was used to get hold of Hubble and draw it into the shuttle's bay.

Contrary to expectations（出乎意料） that the telescope might look more dishevelled（散乱的，蓬乱的） than on the shuttle's last visit, it appeared to be in good condition.

The observatory² has been exposed to extremes of heat and cold as well as to cosmic radiation during its 19 years in low-Earth orbit.

At 1912 BST, Nasa controllers confirmed that Hubble had been safely berthed³（停泊） and secured atop（在顶上） a platform in Atlantis' payload bay.

Five spacewalks beginning on Thursday will upgrade and repair the telescope, which has suffered from recent equipment failures.

As Atlantis made its final approach to Hubble, the shuttle paused at a distance of about 75m, then made an adjustment of 42 degrees to its "yaw", or twist.

Though the crew could control Hubble's movements, the team opted⁴（选择） to align the shuttle to the telescope, rather than vice⁵ versa（反过来也是一样）.

Astronauts were able to get their first close look at Hubble since March 2002.

At a distance of about 10m from the telescope, astronaut Megan McArthur used the 16m-long robotic arm to grasp the telescope's "grapple（抓斗） fixture⁶".

"Houston, Hubble has arrived on board Atlantis," said Atlantis commander Scott Altman as the robotic arm locked with the fixture at 1814 BST.

The telescope was then drawn⁷ delicately to a platform in the shuttle's bay.

Looking out of one of Atlantis' windows, mission specialist John Grunsfeld said: "Hubble, an old man of 19 years. It still looks in fantastic shape."

Previously⁸, Nasa officials had prepared members of the press to expect a Hubble that was more "beaten up" than on the last visit by the shuttle.

Astronauts have now completed a photographic survey of Hubble's exterior⁹（外部，表面） using cameras on the shuttle's robotic arm. This was intended to check for any degradation¹⁰（降格，退化） in the telescope's thermal¹¹ protection system（放热系统） and to assess the condition of its solar panels.

The crew has also activated¹² external power (or shuttle power) to the observatory in preparation for the first spacewalk on Thursday.

A series of spacewalks to be undertaken over the next five days will repair and replace a number of experiments on the telescope.

On Tuesday, shuttle astronauts completed a 10-hour-long inspection¹³ of the shuttle to look for any damage to Atlantis sustained on launch.

Atlantis appeared to be in good overall shape, but the survey uncovered a 53cm (21in) line of chips on the shuttle's right side.

The shuttle thundered into the sky at 1901 BST (1401 EDT) on Monday from Florida's Kennedy Space Center.

Launched in 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope is now regarded as one of the most important instruments in the history of astronomy. It has made a remarkable¹⁴ contribution to our understanding of the origin and evolution of the Universe.