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STS-61 The "Close Shave" DVDs Now Available At Project P.R.O.V.E.!

On the morning of 2 December 1993 at 3:26 AM CST (9:26 GMT) , Space Shuttle Endeavour rocketed from Launch Complex 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Rendezvous with Hubble Space Telescope took place on 2 December, with grappling accomplished at 2:48 AM CST (8:48 GMT). Final berthing of HST in the payload bay was at 3:26 AM CST (9:26 GMT), exactly 48 hours after liftoff. All mission objectives were completed to the satisfaction of everyone. Endeavour landed at Kennedy Space Center, runway 33, at 11:26 PM CST 12 December 1993 (5:26 GMT 13 December). Total mission duration was 10 days 19 hours 59 minutes. This was the 5th flight of the new Endeavour, which was constructed to replace the lost Shuttle Challenger.

The purpose of mission STS-61 was to "save" the Hubble, as it had been launched in 1990 with a seriously flawed main mirror. There were several repairs and upgrades on tap, with no less than five EVAs (Extra Vehicular Activity or spacewalk) to perform the most delicate and demanding work done in a spacesuit in zero-G to date.

The EVAs were conducted by two teams of Astronauts, who risked their lives in the cold airless depths of space to advance the science of astronomy. That risk to life and limb is no joke either. On one of the EVAs, there was a VERY close call with a piece of space junk. That story is STS-61 The Close Shave. The EVA teams consisted of Musgrave with Hoffman, and Thornton with Akers.

One of these EVAs included a strange object which seemed to be pacing the Shuttle/HST complex on orbit. Since this video footage was garnered from a TV documentary on the Hubble repair mission, we do not know which spacewalk it came from, nor the date and time. We only know that it was one of the Musgrave/Hoffman EVAs, of which there were three.

Next we will have a look at a couple still frames from the event, to help familiarize you with the scene before we go to the animated GIF.

This still frame is marked for you using MS Paint™ in order to set the scene. As you can see, Astronaut Thornton is shown by the yellow arrow. The errant bit of space debris is within the circle. Please note just how close the two of them are! This thing came even closer to hitting HST!

The word for this is SCARY!

The event above underscores the necessity of controlling how much junk is left orbiting the Earth when it is of no further use. Also it speaks to reducing the number of small items, such as nuts, bolts, screws, etc. which are jettisoned when such things as satellites are separated from boosters and shrouds.

Astronaut Kathryn Thornton, who came so close to losing her life while working on HST in December 1993.

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At all times during this incident, the camera was under the control of the INCO in Houston Mission Control.

(INCO - INstrument & Communication Officer - The man in Houston Mission Control Center who is responsible for operating the Shuttle payload bay, and robotic arm, cameras. He also remotely operates the helmet cameras in space suits. In the case of ISS, this officer is referred to as the CATO - Communications And Tracking Officer. In both cases, these persons CONTROL everything which is PERMITTED to go out on broadcast to the public. It is a commonly believed falacy that the cameras are operated by Astronauts & Cosmonauts on the Shuttles, and Space Station. Very little camera work is done by the crews. They're way too busy for that.)