Spaced-Out Testimony

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Maryland Sen. Barbara Mikulski says astronauts aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis will testify at a hearing on NASA's budget this week.

Mikulski says the astronauts, who have wrapped up repairs on the Hubble Space Telescope, will give an update live via satellite around 12:30 p.m. Thursday.

Mikulski who chairs the Commerce, Justice and Science Appropriations Subcommittee, fought for the Hubble servicing mission, which had been canceled at one point over safety concerns.

Maryland is home to the Space Telescope Science Institute, which coordinates use of the orbiting telescope, and the Goddard Space Flight Center, where overall Hubble management and daily operations are based.