CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.

NASA Administrator Michael Griffin on Tuesday approved sending a space shuttle to repair the 16-year-old Hubble Space Telescope, reversing his predecessor’s contentious decision to nix the mission.

Griffin’s announcement was greeted eagerly by astronomers who feared Hubble would deteriorate before the end of the decade without a mission to add new camera instruments, sensors and replace aging batteries.

The rehab mission — likely to take place in 2008 — would keep Hubble working until about 2013, an extra three or four years of life. It will be known as Servicing Mission 4.

The Hubble has captured some of the most spectacular images of the universe.

The announcement took place at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, where the Hubble project is managed.

Astronauts already have been training for Hubble’specific tasks.

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Interesting facts:
Hubble completes one orbit around the earth, crossing the same longitude line, every 97 minutes. It’s speed is approximately 5 miles per second.

Hubble images here
Visit the Hubble site here