NASA managers this week completed two key program reviews that demonstrated the space shuttle servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope is progressing well. The STS- 125 servicing mission to the telescope is targeted for launch in September 2008.

On April 18 and 19, the Servicing Mission Four Review Board, which includes Hubble managers and engineers, Space Shuttle Program managers from the Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas, and mission astronauts, met at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., to conduct a mission- level delta, or second, Critical Design Review, or CDR and a Test Readiness Review. The design review certifies that the design and development work needed for a successful mission has been completed and the program is ready to build and fly the mission, while the test review determines if the hardware is ready for environmental tests that simulate operations in space. The original Hubble servicing mission CDR was held in October 2002, and the new review was needed as an update following reinstatement of the servicing mission last October.

These reviews, which are standard milestones in any major project, are conducted to demonstrate that the overall design is compliant with mission requirements and that flight hardware and software developments are on schedule for mission-level testing.

During the two-day meeting, presentations were made on a variety of topics including space shuttle mission analyses, spacewalks, development and system- level test plans for flight hardware.

"This review demonstrated that the Hubble Program is on track, that all mission products are on schedule and that the mission can be executed safely and efficiently," said Preston Burch, associate director/program manager for Hubble at Goddard.

STS-125 is the final planned servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope. Astronauts will use the shuttle to bring two new instruments to Hubble along with gyros, batteries and other devices crucial for the telescope's continued success through the year 2013.

For more information about Hubble, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/hubble