By Irene Klotz
Cape Canaveral - The space shuttle that will carry Nasa's last crew to upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope was moved to its Florida launch pad on Tuesday in preparation for liftoff on May 12.
Shuttle Atlantis and its crew of seven astronauts were due to launch six months ago, but the failure of a computer aboard Hubble prompted Nasa to delay the flight.
Replacing the computer, which prepares data from Hubble's science instruments to be relayed back to Earth, was added to the long list of chores the astronauts will tackle during five days of spacewalks.
Hubble, which has been using a backup computer to format its science data, has been operating well, but is only expected to last another couple of years without another servicing call by shuttle astronauts. Astronomers view Hubble as an important source of scientific data about the universe.
Riding atop a slow-moving Apollo-era transporter, Atlantis emerged from the Kennedy Space Centre's assembly building at around 8am to begin the 5.6km trek to the seaside shuttle launch complex. The ride took more than six hours.
In three weeks, Atlantis will be joined by shuttle Endeavour on a nearby launch pad that is being refurbished for use by the Orion spaceships set to replace the shuttles.
Nasa wants a second shuttle ready to fly in case Atlantis sustains critical damage during launch, as its crew will not be within range of the International Space Station to seek shelter while a possible rescue mission is prepared. - Reuters