Hubble is scheduled for routine servicing much like your family car. When you take care of your car with regular maintenance — such as new tires and batteries — it will last much longer and perform better. The same is true of Hubble. But instead of bringing Hubble to the ground for servicing, astronauts are trained to make "house calls" hundreds of miles above the Earth. Astronauts pilot the shuttle to rendezvous with Hubble, use a robotic arm to place it in the shuttle's cargo bay, and then install the new equipment. After the work is complete, the crew sets Hubble free and returns it to service. This picture shows the start of a servicing mission with the launch of the space shuttle.
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