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Hubble Space Telescope
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The Hubble Space Telescope as seen from the departing Space Shuttle Atlantis, flying Servicing Mission 4 (STS-125), the fifth and latest human spaceflight to it.
General information
NSSDC ID
1990-037B
Organization
NASA / ESA / STScI
Launch date
April 24, 1990, 8:33:51 am EDT
Launch vehicle
Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-31)
Mission length
22 years, 9 months and 17 days elapsed
Deorbited
due ~2013–2021
Mass
11,110 kg (24,500 lb)
Length
13.2 m (43 ft)
Type of orbit
Near-circular low Earth orbit
Orbit height
559 km (347 mi)
Orbit period
96–97 minutes (14–15 periods per day)
Orbit velocity
7,500 m/s (25,000 ft/s)
Acceleration due to gravity
8.169 m/s2 (26.80 ft/s2)
Location
Low Earth orbit
Telescope style
Ritchey–Chrétien reflector
Wavelength
visible light, ultraviolet, near-infrared
Diameter
2.4 m (7.9 ft)
Collecting area
4.5 m2 (48 sq ft)
Focal length
57.6 m (189 ft)
Instruments
NICMOS
infrared camera/spectrometer
ACS
optical survey camera
(partially failed)
WFC3
wide field optical camera
COS
ultraviolet spectrograph
STIS
optical spectrometer/camera
FGS
three fine guidance sensors
Website
hubble.nasa.gov
hubblesite.org
spacetelescope.org
The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is a space telescope that was carried into orbit by a Space Shuttle in 1990 and remains in operation. A 2.4-meter (7.9 ft) aperture telescope in low Earth orbit, Hubble's four main instruments observe in the near ultraviolet, visible, and near infrared. The telescope is named after the astronomer Edwin Hubble.Hubble's orbit outside the distortion of Earth's atmosphere allows it to take extremely sharp images with almost no background light. Hubble's Deep Field have been some of the most detailed visible-light images ever, allowing a deep view into space and time. Many Hubble observations have led to breakthroughs in astrophysics, such as accurately determining the rate of expansion of the universe.Although not the first space telescope, Hubble is one of the largest and most versatile, and is well known as both a vital research tool and a public relations boon for astronomy. The HST was built by the United States space agency NASA, with contributions from the European Space Agency, and is operated by the Space Telescope Science Institute. The HST is one of NASA's Great Observatories, along with the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory, the Chandra X-ray Observatory, and the Spitzer Space Telescope.Space telescopes were proposed as early as 1923. Hubble was funded in the 1970s, with a proposed launch in 1983, but the project was beset by technical delays, budget problems, and the Challenger disaster. When finally launched in 1990, scientists found that the main mirror had been ground incorrectly, compromising the telescope's capabilities. The telescope was restored to its intended quality by a servicing mission in 1993.Hubble is the only telescope designed to be serviced in space by astronauts. Between 1993 and 2002, four missions repaired, upgraded, and replaced systems on the telescope; a fifth mission was canceled on safety grounds following the Columbia disaster. However, after spirited public discussion, NASA administrator Mike Griffin approved one final servicing mission, completed in 2009 by Space Shuttle Atlantis. The telescope is now expected to function until at least 2013. Its scientific successor, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), is to be launched in 2018 or possibly later.
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