Hubble Space Telescope (HST), the first space telescope of mankind, has a total length of more than 13 meters and a mass of more than 11 tons, and runs in an orbit about 6 kilometers above the ground at the outer edge of the earth's atmosphere. It goes around the earth about every 1 minutes. Hubble telescope was launched into orbit in 199 by NASA and the European Space Agency. Hubble telescope is named after astronomer edwin hubble. It is scheduled to be replaced by the James Webb Space Telescope in 29. The angular resolution of Hubble telescope is less than .1 second, and it can acquire 3 to 5 gigabytes of data every day.

As it runs in outer space, the images obtained by Hubble telescope are not affected by atmospheric disturbance and refraction, and images of infrared spectrum that are usually absorbed by the atmosphere can be obtained.

The data of Hubble telescope are analyzed and processed by astronomers and scientists of Space Telescope Research Institute. The Institute belongs to Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, USA.

History

The idea of Hubble Space Telescope can be traced back to 1946. The telescope was designed, built and launched in the 197s at a cost of $2 billion. NASA Marshall Space Flight Center is responsible for designing, developing and building the Hubble Space Telescope. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center is responsible for scientific equipment and ground control. Perkin Elmer is responsible for making lenses. Lockheed is responsible for building telescope mirrors.

Launch

The telescope was launched with the space shuttle Discovery on April 24th, 199. It was originally scheduled to be launched in 1986, but since the Challenger explosion in January that year, the launch date has been postponed.

The first batch of images sent back to Earth disappointed astronomers and many others. Because the thickness of the lenses made by Perkin Elmer was wrong, which caused serious spherical aberration, the images were hazy.

maintenance tasks (1)

the clear images taken after replacing the equipment are much clearer than before. The first task was called STS-61, and many new instruments were added in December 1993, including:

replacing high-speed photometer (HSP) with COSTAR.

replace WFPC camera with WFPC2 camera.

replace the solar collector.

replace two rsus, including four gyroscopes.

Changing orbit

The mission was declared completed on January 13th, 1994, and the first clear images were taken and sent back to Earth.