
The Hubble Space Telescope floats against the background of space as it is released by the Space Shuttle Atlantis after Servicing Mission 4 (SM4, STS-125) on May 19, 2009, 7:57 a.m. (CDT). The shuttle and telescope had been linked for the better part of a week while astronauts conducted five spacewalks. The mission is expected to be the last astronaut visit to the telescope.