Hubble telescope to star in IMAX film

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WASHINGTON, Sept. 25 (UPI) -- The U.S. space agency is working with the IMAX Corp. and Warner Bros to return the IMAX 3-D camera to space.

The IMAX camera will be launched next year as part of STS-125's 11-day servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope. The film, scheduled for release in early 2010, will chronicle Hubble's life.

Veteran National Aeronautics and Space Administration astronaut Scott Altman will command the final space shuttle mission to Hubble, with Navy Reserve Capt. Gregory Johnson serving as pilot. Astronauts on the mission will include veteran spacewalkers John Grunsfeld and Michael Massimino and first-time space fliers Andrew Feustel, Michael Good and K. Megan McArthur.

"A decade ago we made a film that briefly touched on the subject of Hubble, but back then its first images were just coming in," said IMAX Producer and Director Toni Myers. "Today, we have Hubble's entire phenomenal legacy of data to explore. With IMAX 3D, we can transport people to galaxies that are literally 13 billion light years away. Real star travel is here at last."

The Hubble Space Telescope is a cooperative project of NASA and the European Space Agency.