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Credit - NASA
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Other Designations: Hubble Space Telescope. Class: Astronomy. Type: Visible. Destination: Medium Earth Orbit. Nation: USA. Agency: NASA, MSFC. Manufacturer: Lockheed. The Hubble Space Telescope was designed to provide a space telescope with an order of magnitude better resolution than ground-based instruments. The initially flawed satellite was repaired, maintained, and upgraded in a series of space shuttle missions extending over a decade.
The Hubble Space Telescope was the visible/ultraviolet/near-infrared element of the Great Observatories astronomical program. The spacecraft provided an order of magnitude better resolution than was possible with ground-based telescopes. The objectives of the HST were to:
- investigate the composition, physical characteristics, and dynamics of celestial bodies
- examine the formation, structure, and evolution of stars and galaxies
- study the history and evolution of the universe
- provide a long-term space-based research facility for optical astronomy.
During initial on-orbit checkout of the Hubble's systems, a flaw in the telescope's main reflective mirror was found that prevented perfect focus of the incoming light. This flaw was caused by the incorrect adjustment of a testing device used in building the mirror. Fortunately, however, Hubble was designed for regular on-orbit maintenance by Shuttle missions. The first servicing mission, STS-61 in December 1993, corrected the problem by installing a corrective optics package and upgraded instruments (as well as replacing other satellite components). Further servicing missions were undertaken in 1997, 1999, and 2002. Hubble's successor, the Webb Next Generation Telescope, was authorized in 2002. However so valuable was Hubble, that NASA in 2007 decided to proceed to break its rule after the Columbia disaster of not flying solo shuttle missions and planned a final Hubble servicing mission in 2009.
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STS-31 crew monitors Hubble Space Telescope (HST) from OV-103's flight deck...
Credit- NASA |
The program included significant participation by ESA, which provided one of the science instruments, the solar arrays, and some operational support to the program. Responsibility for conducting and coordinating the science operations of the Hubble Space Telescope rested with the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) at Johns Hopkins University, who operated it for NASA as a general observer facility available to astronomers from all countries. Hubble had a 3-axis stabilized, zero momentum biased control system using reaction wheels with a pointing accuracy of 0.007 arc-sec. Two double-roll-out solar arrays (2.3 m x 12 m) generated 5000 W and fed six 60 Ahr batteries. A hydrazine propulsion system allowed coarse attitude control and orbital correction. The S-band communications system used deployed articulated high gain antennas and provided uplink at 1 kbps and downlink (via TDRSS) at 256-512 kbps. The telescope was an f/24 Ritchey-Chretien Cassegrainian system with a 2.4 m diameter primary mirror and a 0.3 m Zerodur secondary. The effective focal length was 57.6 m. The Corrective Optics Space Telescope Axial Replacement (COSTAR) package was a corrective optics package designed to optically correct the effects of the primary mirror's aberration on the Faint Object Camera (FOC), Faint Object Spectrograph (FOS), and the Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph (GHRS). COSTAR displaced the High Speed Photometer during the first servicing mission to HST. Instruments included the Wide Field Planetary Camera (JPL), which consisted of four cameras that were used for general astronomical observations from far-UV to near-IR. The Faint Object Camera (ESA) used cumulative exposures to study faint objects. The Faint Object Spectrograph (FOS) was used to analyze the properties of celestial objects such as chemical composition and abundances, temperature, radial velocity, rotational velocity, and magnetic fields. The FOS was sensitive from 1150 Angstroms (UV) through 8000 Angstroms (near-IR). The Goddard High Resolution Spectrometer (GHRS) separated incoming light into its spectral components so that the composition, temperature, motion, and other chemical and physical properties of objects could be analyzed. The GHRS was sensitive between 1050 and 3200 Angstroms.
Design Life: 15 years (with on-orbit servicing). Typical orbit: 590 km circular, 28.5 deg inclination. Length: 13.30 m (43.60 ft). Maximum Diameter: 4.30 m (14.10 ft). Mass: 10,863 kg (23,948 lb). Associated Launch Vehicle: Shuttle.
HST Chronology
- 2002 March 8 - EVA STS-109-5 - Program: ISS. Crew: Grunsfeld, Linnehan. Flight: STS-109.
The EVA ran from 0841 to 1606 UTC. The astronauts installed the NICMOS cooling system (NCS). During preparations for EVA-3, a problem with a valve on Grunsfeld's suit caused it to leak water, and Grunsfeld switched to Newman's suit. For each of EVA-3,4,5 the appropriate size legs and arms were replaced on the same basic HUT (Hard Upper Torso)/PLSS (Primary Life Support System) combination.
- 2002 September 5 - Webb / Next Generation Space Telescope contract award -
NASA awarded TRW a $824 million contract to build the Next Generation Space Telescope, redesignated the James Webb Space Telescope. TRW beat out Lockheed Martin, builder of the Hubble Space Telescope which the Webb was to replace. Launch of the 6-metre aperture telescope was not expected until 2010 at the earliest.
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