Brits pin hopes on Hubble fix

British scientists are this week waiting to see whether ambitious attempts to update the Hubble space telescope go according to plan, writes Julia Hinde.

Seven astronauts blasted off from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida aboard the space shuttle Discovery on Tuesday to service the seven-year-old telescope. If all goes well 16 British teams will be among the first to use the latest technology to gain a better picture of the universe.

British scientists bid alongside astronomers from other countries in the European Space Agency for permission to use the telescope.