The shuttle will make one last trip to Hubble.

"Astronauts will use the Space Shuttle to bring new instruments to Hubble along with gyros, batteries and other devices crucial for the telescope's continued success through the year 2013. At the end of Servicing Mission 4, Hubble will be at the peak of its capabilities."

"Hubble's iconic pictures, such as the towering Eagle Nebula, have touched the public in ways that science normally can't do. That's partly because Hubble went from being a failure just after launch to a roaring success, said Syracuse University science and technology professor Henry Lambright.

"'The results of Hubble, the beautiful pictures that we see Hubble produce, the images of the cosmos are gripping to everyone who looks at them,' Lambright said. 'They transmit the magic of space in a way that words cannot.'

"Launched in 1990, it was the butt of jokes at first when it wasn't working properly [the mirrors were improperly installed --Ed.]... In the 13 years since Hubble got a major focusing problem fixed, the telescope has changed the field of astrophysics and what scientists think about the universe, especially about the mysterious dark energy and the expansion of the cosmos."