Shuttle Atlantis to Hubble: We’ll Meet Again, Don’t Know Where, Don’t Know When

Today, the Space Shuttle Atlantis released the Hubble space Telescope and backed away slowly. It left behind a refurbished and much improved observatory with new instruments and improved instruments. Despite the onslaught of numerous gremlins, an intrepid team of astronauts, mission specialists, and support staff overcame many unexpected obstacles and managed to plug, bolt, clip, and attach everything the Shuttle brought along for the mission. What remains is to see if all this new stuff works. It appears that it will take three months before we (the public) know. Seems too long to me. Long enough for the Hubble to fade from the limelight. We want results now, even if NASA just trickles them out.

Meanwhile, this song from Dr. Strangelove keeps playing in my head:

We’ll meet again, don’t know where, don’t know when,
But I know we’ll meet again, some sunny day.
Keep smiling through, just like you always do,
‘Til the blue skies drive the dark clouds far away.