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The space shuttle Atlantis crew on Monday afternoon completed its final spacewalk to upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope, according to NASA.

The spacewalk was said to be the last time human hands would touch the orbiting telescope, which provides astronomers distant images to help them see further into the origins of the universe.

The telescope should be able to operate from these upgrades for five to 10 years, at which time Hubble will either remain in orbit or will be pushed through the atmosphere and plunged into the ocean by a robotic spacecraft, said J.D. Harrington, a NASA spokesman. Read full article »

CNN's John D. Sutter, John Zarrella and Kim Segal contributed to this report.

All About Hubble Space Telescope • NASA • Space Shuttle Atlantis