STS-82 Flight Day 09 Highlights

The ninth day of the STS-82 mission begins with the crew, Commander Kenneth D. Bowersox, Pilot Scott J. Horowitz, Payload Commander Mark C. Lee, and Mission Specialists Gregory J. Harbaugh, Steven L. Smith, Joseph R. Tanner, and Steven A. Hawley placing the Hubble Space Telescope back into its own orbit to continue its investigation of the far reaches of the universe. At the time of deployment, the Shuttle was at an altitude of 334 nautical miles over the southwest coast of Africa. Hubble is now operating at the highest altitude it has ever flown, a 335 by 321 nautical mile orbit. A few hours after Hubble's deployment, the crew receives a congratulatory phone call from NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin. The four spacewalking crewmembers also answered questions from several news networks regarding their work over the past week to upgrade the telescope.