KSC-2009-2151

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, under the guidance of the technicians, a crane lowers the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph, or COS, onto a test stand. The COS is part of the payload on space shuttle Atlantis for the Hubble servicing mission, targeted to launch in mid-May. Installing the COS during the mission will effectively restore spectroscopy to Hubble’s scientific arsenal, and at the same time provide the telescope with unique capabilities. COS is designed to study the large-scale structure of the universe and how galaxies, stars and planets formed and evolved. It will help determine how elements needed for life such as carbon and iron first formed and how their abundances have increased over the lifetime of the universe. Photo credit: NASA_Jack Pfaller