Space Missions Codexery

The Hubble Space Telescope

A versatile space telescope observing ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared light.

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Launched into low Earth orbit in 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope continues to function as a space telescope.[1] Astronauts can perform in-space maintenance on Hubble, the only telescope built with this capability.[2]

Key facts and history

The history of the Hubble Space Telescope can be traced to 1946, to astronomer Lyman Spitzer's paper "Astronomical advantages of an extraterrestrial observatory".[3] In 1923, Hermann Oberth published a work mentioning how a telescope could be propelled into Earth orbit by a rocket.[4] In 1974, public spending cuts led to Congress deleting all funding for the telescope project.[5] After World War II, rocket technology advancements enabled the start of small-scale space-based astronomy.[6]

A 1968 NASA plan specified a 3-meter-diameter reflecting telescope for space, temporarily called the Large Space Telescope.[5] The OAO program's ongoing achievements built a strong consensus among astronomers that the LST should be a primary objective.[5] When Hubble was removed from NASA's budget, astronomers organized a nationwide lobbying campaign.[5] Cost constraints caused the project's scale to shrink, with the mirror's planned diameter going from 3 m down to 2.4 m.[7]

In 1978, Congress approved $36 million in funding, which allowed the LST design work to start in earnest, with a 1983 launch target.[8]

What the cited sources add

The Space Telescope Observatory overview presented the scientific capabilities and potential of the Space Telescope.[9] The HST Cycle 26 Primer notes that targets lying within 24° of the orbital poles are not geometrically occulted at any time during the HST orbit.[10] The same source states that atmospheric drag on the spacecraft is a significant issue because HST is in a low Earth orbit.[10] The ESA/Hubble account describes WFPC2 as Hubble's workhorse camera for many years, recording images through 48 colour filters.[11]

That account also notes WFPC2 was the most used instrument in the first 13 years of Hubble’s life.[11]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Hubble Space Telescope" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Hubble Essentials", HubbleSite.org (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Hubble Space Telescope" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Hubble Marks 30 Years in Space with Tapestry of Blazing Starbirth", HubbleSite.org, April 24, 2020 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Hubble Space Telescope" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Spitzer, Lyman Jr., "Report to Project Rand: Astronomical Advantages of an Extra-Terrestrial Observatory", reprinted in NASA SP-2001-4407: Exploring the Unknown (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Hubble Space Telescope" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Oberth, "Die Rakete zu den Planetenräumen", R. Oldenbourg-Verlay, 1923, p. 85 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Hubble Space Telescope" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Spitzer 1979, p. 32 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Hubble Space Telescope" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Baum, "Solar Ultraviolet Spectrum to 88 Kilometers", Physical Review, November 1946, p. 781–782; "The First Orbiting Solar Observatory", heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov, June 26, 2003 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Hubble Space Telescope" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Andersen, "The telescope: its history, technology, and future", Princeton University Press, 2007, p. 116 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Hubble Space Telescope" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Memorandum of Understanding Between The European Space Agency and The United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration", reprinted in NASA SP-2001-4; Spitzer 1979, p. 32; Okolski, "A Chronology of the Hubble Space Telescope", NASA; "The Path to Hubble Space Telescope", NASA (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  9. "The Space Telescope Observatory", NASA, 1982. facts only, no text reused. ntrs.nasa.gov
  10. "HST Cycle 26 Primer Orbital Constraints – HST User Documentation", hst-docs.stsci.edu. facts only, no text reused. hst-docs.stsci.edu
  11. "Hubble's Instruments: WFPC2 Wide Field Planetary Camera 2", esahubble.org. facts only, no text reused. esahubble.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Hubble Space Telescope (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

More in Space Missions

The International Space StationSputnik 1Vostok 1The Space Shuttle programRosetta and PhilaeHayabusa2OSIRIS-RExParker Solar ProbeJunoGalileoPioneer 10The Artemis program

Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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