A little history Original idea proposed Lynam Spizer in 1946
Eliminate the effect of Earth’s atmosphere at optical wavelengths
Able to observe in infra-red and ultra-violet wavelengths
The Space Shuttle made the idea feasible
Budget of $360 million approved by Congress in 1977
Became a joint project between NASA and ESA
Hubble’s Original Instruments
Wide field planetary camera (WIFPIC)
Faint object camera
High Resolution spectrograph
High Speed Photometer
Faint object spectrograph
After delays the planned launch date was late 1986
January 1986 Challenger disaster – Shuttle fleet grounded
Provided extra time for some enhancements to Hubble and to improve tracking and data handling
Finally launched in April 1990 aboard Discovery
Servicing Mission 1 - December 1993
Key mission with 5 days EVA
- Fitted COSTAR & WIFPIC 2- Replaced 2 gyroscopes & R.S.U.- Fitted new solar arrays- Upgraded on board computer & data
storage
Servicing Missions
No 2 in February 1997No 3 A in December 1999No 3 B in March 2002No 4 scheduled for 2005 but cancelled after
Columbia disaster in 2003Re-instated and took place in May 2009
H.S.T’s Contribution
An immense contribution to astronomy, cosmology and astro-physics
Been able to see further and fainter objects than ever before
Over 9,000 academic papers published using Hubble’s data and images
Helped establish more precisely the age of the Universe and its rate of expansion – the Hubble Constant
H.S.T’s ContributionDecember 2012 – discovered what may be the farthest galaxyAt 13.2 billion light years
What will happen to Hubble?
Scheduled to operate until 2014
Left to itself its orbit will gradually decay until it burns up in the atmosphere
Final “de-orbit” mission