Ex-Space Shuttle boss corrects the record on Hubble upgrade mission

Former Space Shuttle Program Manager Wayne Hale has posted a correction to NASA's history of STS-109, which he claims "is a lie" - although that may be a slight exaggeration.

STS-109, launched in 2002, was the last mission of Columbia before the STS-107 disaster. During the mission, the crew conducted a series of five spacewalks to service the Hubble Space Telescope.

It was a huge success. Hubble received new solar arrays and a replacement for the original power control unit, among other upgrades. However, it is the final paragraph of the history with which Hale took issue.

NASA's summary reads: "After a successful launch, flight controllers in Mission Control noticed a degraded flow rate in one of two Freon cooling loops that help to dissipate heat from the orbiter. After reviewing the loop's performance, mission managers gave the crew a 'go' to proceed with normal operations. The problem ...