Atlantis Crew "Ready To Go"

The seven astronauts assigned to the final the Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission are confident they can complete a complex series of repairs and upgrades, and that a rescue mission by another shuttle crew won't be needed.

"We are ready to go," said Scott "Scooter" Altman, commander of the Atlantis crew scheduled to launch Oct. 10 from Kennedy Space Center. "I definitely feel that the crew has come together. Everybody knows their jobs."

The astronauts discussed their mission during a news conference this afternoon at Johnson Space Center in Houston.

The mission will include five spacewalks to work on the sensitive Hubble observatory. At times, spacewalkers will have less than an inch of room between the instruments they are working on and the telescope's exterior casing.

Equipped with more than 60 new tools that have never been used in space before, the astronauts will have to remove dozens of untethered screws and fasteners that weren't designed for repair in orbit. They won't be able to see some of the gear.

John Grunsfeld, a spacewalker on his third Hubble servicing mission, likened some of the work to groping for parts from beneath your car. He and Andrew Feustal are tasked with repairing the telescope's Advanced Camera for Surveys.

"This repair - different from previous repairs I've done on Hubble, anyway - has not yet become routine," said Grunsfeld. "I think this will be a nail-biter all the way up until we actually do the repair."

The astronauts have trained for a potential rescue attempt by shuttle Endeavour in the event that Atlantis suffers severe damage. They have pondered the frightening scenario, but are confident that it is very unlikely.

"It is a viable rescue option, but one that we tried to drive as far down the line of unlikely scenarios as we could," said Altman.

The Atlantis crew is scheduled to arrive Sept. 21 at Kennedy Space Center, where they will take part in a simulated launch countdown.

The Hubble cargo is expected to be installed in Atlantis, at pad 39A, on Sept. 19.

Endeavour is scheduled to move from its processing hangar to the Vehicle Assembly Building on Thursday, then roll out to launch pad 39B on Sept. 18.

IMAGE NOTE: Click on the image of the Atlantis crew above, provided by NASA, to enlarge it.