Veteran astronaut Michael Massimino plans an appearance at UT Dallas this week to discuss his experiences on two space flights, including the final trip to repair the Hubble Space Telescope in 2009.

The event is part of a lecture series sponsored by the Physics Department.

Massimino was selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA in May 1996. He completed two years of training and currently serves as Chief of the Astronaut Appearances Office.

His first mission, the STS-109 Columbia, was the fourth Hubble Space Telescope mission. The crew upgraded the telescope with a new power unit and camera.

The 2009 STS-125 Atlantis mission was the fifth and final Hubble servicing mission, where Massimino set a new record for length of spacewalks, with just under 37 hours of time. The mission resulted in a major overhaul of the Hubble Telescope, in which Massimino and his team installed new instrumentation, batteries, gyroscopes and a new computer. As a result, the Hubble is expected to be fully functional at least into 2014, if not longer.

The Hubble Telescope has captured unprecedented photographic mapping of deep space since its April 1990 launch.

Massimino will speak from 4 to 5 p.m., April 6, at the Conference Center Auditorium; refreshments will be served at 3:30 p.m. The discussion is open and free to the public, and there will be an autograph session after his presentation.