Hubble Space Telescope

The Hubble Telescope has made many significant discoveries, including the age of the universe, the rate of its expansion, the existence of dark energy, and vast numbers of galaxies and stars. Additionally, it has captured stunning images of celestial objects like planets, nebulae, and galaxies.

HST is always in a decaying orbit - over the years it has relied on Shuttles to boost it back into its high orbit after each Servicing Mission. The nominal orbital altitude is around 307 nautical miles, though if no other Servicing Missions are authorized, it will eventually decay in orbit and burn up in the atmosphere.

Ground-based telescopes suffer from being under the Earth's atmosphere.

Movement and different densities in the earth's atmosphere causes the light from distant stars to be randomly refracted, and this appears to ground-based observers as 'twinkling' of the stars. For telescopes, these effects cause images to be distorted and blurred, and prevent the telescope's optics from operating at their best, and from getting the best possible images of planet, nebulae and galaxies.

Although it is possible to compensate for the effects of the atmosphere with adaptive optics (literally adjusting the shape of the mirror to correct for these effects), the best way to avoid the effects of the atmosphere is not to have it there at all.

The Hubble telescope was put into orbit around the Earth so that it is permanently situated above the atmosphere, and its users never have to worry about it distorting their images - this has allowed astronomers to get the best images of, for example, the most distant galaxies ever produced.

The Hubble Space Telescope was a project led by NASA, in collaboration with the European Space Agency. Many scientists, engineers, and technicians from various countries contributed to its design, construction, and deployment. The telescope was named after astronomer Edwin Hubble and was launched into space in 1990.

The age of the universe according to the Hubble Space Telescope is estimated to be around 13.8 billion years. This estimate is based on observations of the cosmic microwave background radiation and the expansion rate of the universe.

The Hubble Space Telescope is considered advanced because it is above Earth's atmosphere, which distorts light, providing clear and detailed images of astronomical objects. It is also equipped with precise instruments that can capture light from objects millions of light-years away, enabling detailed observations in multiple wavelengths. Additionally, its design allows for regular maintenance and upgrades, keeping it at the forefront of astronomical research.

The Hubble Space Telescope has made numerous groundbreaking discoveries, including determining the rate of expansion of the universe, identifying the presence of supermassive black holes at the centers of galaxies, and capturing images of distant galaxies and nebulae. It has also played a key role in our understanding of dark matter, dark energy, and the formation of galaxies.

The HST First Servicing Mission occurred over a 10 day period on board Space Shuttle Endeavour (STS-61) in December, 1993 - all of us on the HST program held our breath as the Astronauts installed COSTAR, the corrective optical unit that compensated for the minor defect in the primary mirror (4 microns, 1/5 the thickness of a human hair).

In addition to COSTAR, the solar arrays were replaced, all 4 gyros, RIU's (Telemetry interface units), power units, magnetometers, and the HST original data tape recorder. It was replaced with a unit called the Solid State Recorder, which is the technology developed by NASA that today's SSD's and flash drives comes from.

Mission Specialists/Astronauts Story Musgrave, Kathryn Thornton, Thomas Akers, and Jeffrey Hoffman repaired HST over an 8 day mission, comprising a total of 5 spacewalks. One problem occurred when Story Musgrave tried to tighten the bolts on the main doors that open up to HST's main instrument bay - the doors wouldn't quite close shut. He eventually got them to close and bolt, but it was a tense moment.

The result was nothing short of spectacular, not to mention those of us in the program being able to breathe a sigh of relief.

HST was transported into orbit aboard Space Shuttle Discovery (mission STS-31) in April 1990. It was scheduled to be orbited earlier, but the shutdown of the Shuttle program following the Challenger accident delayed its deployment, not to mention increasing its maintenance cost because it sat on the ground (about 1 million per day). Astronauts successfully deployed and boosted HST into its orbit altitude of 569nm.

Though any of the Shuttles can perform an HST Servicing Mission, Shuttles Discovery and Endeavour are usually preferred due to their larger payload bays (we can put more stuff in it).

To date, HST has been in orbit and providing science data for over 20 years.

The Hubble telescope gathers data using its instruments, then transmits the information as radio waves to communication satellites in Earth's orbit. From there, the data is sent to ground stations on Earth, where it is received and processed by scientists.

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The Hubble Space Telescope has provided valuable insights into the age and size of the universe, discovered new galaxies, and deepened our understanding of dark matter and dark energy. It has also allowed us to study the atmospheres of exoplanets and make groundbreaking observations of distant objects in the universe.

The Hubble Space Telescope has a segmented mirror made up of smaller hexagonal mirror segments that work together to form a single large mirror. This segmented design allows for a larger aperture size than a single-piece mirror of the same size and also allows for easier maintenance and replacement of individual segments if needed.

The Hubble Space Telescope helps us by providing high-quality images of distant celestial objects, which helps astronomers study the universe in more detail. It also helps us understand the origins of the universe, track the movement of planets and other phenomena, and discover new celestial objects.

The Hubble Space Telescope has had a significant impact on society by revolutionizing our understanding of the universe. It has provided breathtaking images of distant galaxies, stars, and nebulae, as well as contributed to scientific discoveries such as the age of the universe, the existence of dark matter and dark energy, and the confirmation of exoplanets. The Hubble Telescope has inspired public interest in space exploration and nurtured a sense of wonder and curiosity about the cosmos.

Edwin Hubble faced challenges in obtaining funding for his research and in gaining acceptance for his groundbreaking discoveries, such as the idea of an expanding universe. He also had to overcome skepticism from some fellow scientists who initially doubted his findings and theories. Additionally, Hubble had to balance his scientific pursuits with his military service during World War I and World War II.

The Hubble Space Telescope cannot see Mercury clearly because Mercury is too close to the Sun, making it difficult for Hubble to observe without damaging its instruments. Additionally, Mercury's small size and proximity to the bright glare of the Sun make it challenging to distinguish from the surrounding brightness.

The Hubble Space Telescope or HST was launched aboard the space shuttle Dscovery during mission STS-31 on the 24th of April 1990.

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is set to replace the Hubble Space Telescope and is scheduled to launch in 2021. The JWST will be the most powerful space telescope ever built and will study the universe in infrared wavelengths to observe objects that are difficult to see with other telescopes.

The Hubble Space Telescope orbits Earth at an altitude of about 340 miles (547 kilometers) above sea level. It travels around the planet at a speed of about 5 miles per second (8 kilometers per second).

The first large space telescope was the Hubble, and it's probably still the most famous one. But a LOT of the new and exciting work being done is using the Kepler Space Telescope, a device which was specially designed to search for planets around neighboring stars.

HST has actually been built under the control of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (responsible for design and optical part, subcontracted to Kodak and Perkin-Elmer Corp.) and Goddard Space Flight Center (science instruments and ground control). The overall spacecraft in which the telescope is housed was built by Lockheed.

Even in excellent weather, telescopes on Earth are affected by the thickness of the atmosphere. This causes the air to be slightly refractive, meaning that the air bents the light as it comes through the atmosphere, and distorts the image that we are trying to see.

The Hubble Space Telescope is much smaller than many terrestrial telescopes, but because there is no atmospheric distortion, the images can be far clearer and can be magnified more.

An earth-based telescope has to contend with atmospheric turbulence, which can distort and blur images. This is not a concern for a space-based telescope, which operates above Earth's atmosphere and can provide clearer images.

The Hubble Space Telescope is powered by solar panels that convert sunlight into electricity. These solar panels charge the spacecraft's batteries, which provide power to operate its scientific instruments and communication systems.