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Shuttle With Illinois Natives On Board Launches
Space shuttle Atlantis is on its way to the Hubble Space Telescope, under the command of Illinois native Scott Altman.

Atlantis and seven astronauts blasted off Monday from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on a mission that has more risks than usual. It is NASA's final trip to Hubble and comes after a seven-month delay. Atlantis and its crew were supposed to fly to Hubble last fall, but the telescope broke down.

The telescope is in need of new equipment and repairs, and the shuttle should arrive at the orbiting observatory Wednesday. The $1 billion repair job will feature five spacewalks. The astronauts will install new cameras, batteries and gyroscopes, and attempt to fix two broken science instruments.

Altman was born in Lincoln, IL., and considers Pekin his hometown. He attended Pekin Community High School and received his bachelor's degree in aeronautical and astronautical engineering from the University of Illinois in 1981.

Also on board is John Grunsfeld, a Chicago native and grandson of Adler Planetarium architect Ernest A. Grunsfeld.

(Illinois Radio Network)
05 11 09 by Newsroom
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