Word: solarization
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...Hubble rescue is by far the most difficult mission since the moon landings. The crew was set to perform at least five six-hour space walks, and maybe up to seven, in order to replace or repair the telescope's myopic primary mirror, an outdated camera, two wobbly solar-energy panels and three faulty gyroscopes, among other balky components -- 11 fixes in all. Says mission scientist Edward Weiler sardonically: "This is not a trip to Grandma's house to fix the faucet...
...gazed for a few minutes, until the Moon was completely eclipsed, just about as predicted. No danger of burned-out retinas, such as might characterize solar eclipses. At that point, the relative brightness of the surrounding stars offered a dazzling view, to our untrained eyes, of star clusters, nebulae--and other groups of lights which we had no idea what to call. The names sounded right then...
...toughest job may be replacing the solar panels -- two 40-ft.-long "wings" that provide power to the telescope. During the full day needed for this task, Thornton and Akers will precisely follow hundreds of steps, using bolts, electrical connectors, Velcro and 84 sq. yds. of plastic. And somehow they must do it all while swathed in their thick space suits -- a condition astronauts jokingly compare with being mummified...
...idea that thinning ozone will let more solar ultraviolet radiation strike the earth (leading to increased skin cancers and cataracts as well as weakened immune systems) has been so far a mostly theoretical danger. Four years of careful measurements, however, now show a direct relationship between ozone loss and ultraviolet leakage...
...Solar power finally seems poised to light up the world...