SCHNEIDER KREUZNACH Lenses Monitor the Final Servicing Mission to the Hubble Space Telescope

BAD KREUZNACH, Germany - Dubbed STS-125, NASA’s final servicing mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope was launched on 11 May of this year. The crew of seven astronauts replaced six gyroscopes, some batteries and a sensor that is used to guide the telescope. On board Space Shuttle Atlantis, three lenses made by Schneider-Kreuznach monitored the rendezvous between the shuttle and the telescope as well as the repair work. Atlantis returned safely to its base on the 24th of May.

(Photo: www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090526/348002 )

“Through Schneider Optics USA, NASA requested Schneider-Kreuznach lenses from the standard range for the space mission. No modifications were needed for this special assignment. The quality and robustness of Schneider lenses were decisive for the space mission, according to NASA,” explains Dr. Josef Staub, CEO of the Schneider Group.

The space organization’s specialists chose the compact C-mount standard lenses Xenoplan and Cinegon for the mission. Mounted in the shuttle’s payload bay, the three lenses sent high-resolution video images of the shuttle docking onto, opening and casting off from the telescope. The Schneider lenses were able to cope with the tough conditions, especially during launch, without the need for modifications of any kind.

The three standard compact lenses used for the space mission are normally used for 3D measurements, in robotics and motor sports. “We are particularly thrilled that one of our standard lenses was used for this special task. It goes to show how robust and reliable our products are,” says Thomas Schaich, Head of Sales for Industrial Optics at Schneider-Kreuznach.

The final mission to the Hubble Space Telescope will enable it to keep functioning until at least 2014. Pictures and more information on the mission and on the telescope’s work can be found on NASA’s project website: www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble

About the Schneider Group:

The Schneider Group specializes in developing and producing high-performance photographic lenses, cinema projection lenses, as well as industrial optics and precision mechanics. The group comprises Jos. Schneider Optische Werke, founded in Bad Kreuznach in 1913, and its subsidiaries Pentacon (Dresden), B+W Filterfabrik (ISCO) (Göttingen), Praktika (London), Schneider-Optics (New York, Los Angeles), Schneider Bando (Seoul), Schneider Asia Pacific (Hong Kong) and Schneider Optical Technologies (Shenzhen). The company’s main brand is “Schneider-Kreuznach”. It has around 650 employees worldwide, with 345 based in its German headquarters. For years now the group has been a world market leader in the area of high-performance lenses.

Contact: Jos. Schneider Optische Werke Wolfgang Berger Ringstrasse 132 55543 Bad Kreuznach Phone: +49-671-601-287 Fax: +49-671-601-289 bergerw@schneiderkreuznach.com www.schneiderkreuznach.com fishermen communications GmbH Dr. Heiko Reisch Kaiserstrasse 61 60329 Frankfurt am Main Phone: +49-69-210860-0 Fax: +49-69-210860-21 hreisch@fishermen-com.de www.fishermen-com.de

Source: Schneider-Kreuznach

Contact: Jos. Schneider Optische Werke, Wolfgang Berger, Ringstrasse 132, 55543 Bad Kreuznach, Phone: +49-671-601-287, Fax: +49-671-601-289, bergerw at schneiderkreuznach.com; fishermen communications GmbH, Dr. Heiko Reisch, Kaiserstrasse 61, 60329 Frankfurt am Main, Phone: +49-69-210860-0, Fax: +49-69-210860-21, hreisch at fishermen-com.de