Scientists for NASA`s Hubble Space Telescope can relax. A hit squad of bug killers did its job and the telescope is set to be loaded on the shuttle Discovery on Thursday.
The $1.6 billion observatory was to have been placed in the spaceship`s cargo bay Tuesday, but the job was delayed when mosquitoes flew into a sterile payload room.
Experts feared the bugs might get inside the telescope and gum up its sensitive instruments. But the mini-crisis was declared over on Wednesday after 40 of the pests were caught in traps.
”They`re sure they`ve got every last one of them out of there,” NASA spokesman Bruce Buckingham said.
Two other problems surfaced Wednesday on Discovery, but neither is expected to effect NASA`s plan to send the telescope into space April 12 or sooner.
The troubles involved a computer and igniter on Discovery`s main engines. Both parts will be removed starting Tuesday and spares will be installed, Buckingham said.
If all goes well during Discovery`s mission, Hubble will be released into orbit to shed new light on the mysteries of deep space.
