Hubble telescope will get upgrade

**Adam** · 31st October 2006, 10:20 AM

Yay

HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE

Named after the great US astronomer Edwin Hubble
Launched in 1990 into a 600km-high circular orbit
Equipped with a 2.4m primary mirror and five instruments
Length: 15.9m; diameter: 4.2m; Mass: 11,110kg
Observations have probed about 24,000 celestial objects
Made more than 93,000 trips around our planet
Generates about 10 gigabytes of data each day

Nasa chief Mike Griffin says shuttle astronauts will be sent to service the Hubble Space Telescope.

The orbiting observatory has astounded astronomers and the public alike with its amazing pictures of the cosmos, but it will soon fail unless serviced.

Dr Griffin told Nasa employees that recent modifications to the shuttle launch system meant he felt it was now safe to send a crew to work on Hubble.

The mission, which will use the shuttle Discovery, should launch in 2008.

"We are going to add a shuttle servicing mission - to the Hubble space telescope - to the shuttle's manifest to be flown before [the orbiter] retires," Dr Griffin told an audience at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland where the Hubble programme is managed.

It's a great day for science, a great day for discovery, a great day for inspiration

Maryland Senator Barbara Mikulski

Without servicing, the observatory is not expected to last more than two or three years.

Its batteries and gyroscopes, which are used to point the telescope, are degrading and they will now be replaced.
The shuttle crew will also install two new instruments: the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3), and the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS). The new instruments will improve significantly Hubble's ability to see distant, faint objects in the early Universe.

Click here to see a summary of the Hubble servicing plan

Haven of safety

The servicing mission should extend Hubble's orbital lifetime to at least 2013, by which time Nasa will be getting close to launching a successor: the James Webb Space Telescope.

Dr Griffin's decision reverses that of his predecessor, Sean O'Keefe, who cancelled the planned visit in the wake of the Columbia shuttle disaster in 2003.

Hubble's pictures of the cosmos have been astounding

Enlarge Image

The orbiter's heat shield had been damaged during launch and the ship was destroyed as it returned through the atmosphere for landing 16 days later.

Mr O'Keefe had implemented a safe-haven policy for subsequent shuttle crews, which meant if their orbiters became damaged in a similar way they could stay on the International Space Station until rescued.
A Hubble servicing mission was a casualty of this policy as shuttles do not carry sufficient fuel to move between the orbits of the observatory and the station.

Dr Griffin's green light will now require Nasa to prepare an alternative rescue strategy if Discovery finds it has sustained catastrophic damage on the climb to orbit.

Record of discovery

This would involve sending up another shuttle to attempt a ship-to-ship transfer of astronauts.

"There are very small odds that we would have a problem on ascent for which the remedy would be a launch-on-need shuttle - a rescue shuttle," explained Dr Griffin.

The WFC3 undergoes testing at the Goddard Space Center

"But against the very small probability that that could occur [we] have made the decision that we will carry that rescue option in the manifest; and that that rescue mission will consist of a shuttle waiting on the other pad from which we launch the Hubble mission."

The news of a servicing mission will be greeted with jubilation by astronomers worldwide. The multi-billion-dollar mission has made a remarkable contribution to our understanding of the origin and evolution of the Universe.

Hubble has obtained the deepest views of the cosmos, finding high-interest objects for other observatories to investigate in detail.

Its studies of the Universe's expansion early in its mission dramatically refined the best estimates for the age of the cosmos. Its pictures have also produced definitive proof for the existence of black holes and confirmed theories of planetary formation.

Scientists expect an upgraded Hubble to continue making groundbreaking discoveries.

Maryland Senator Barbara Mikulski, who has campaigned for a servicing mission, called Tuesday "an exceptional day".

"It's a great day for science, a great day for discovery, a great day for inspiration; because that's one of the things Hubble has meant to so many people," she told the Goddard meeting.

SERVICING THE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE

Shuttle Discovery will grab Hubble with a robotic arm and pull it on to a work platform to allow astronauts easy access to its interior
Hubble has six gyroscopes that are critical to its control and pointing systems. These have started to fail and all will have to be replaced
Six new batteries will rejuvenate the electrical system; astronauts will attach new thermal blankets to insulate sensitive components
The telescope has two instrument bays; the COS and WFC3 will be slid into racks made vacant by the removal of older instruments
An attempt will also be made to repair the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) which stopped working in 2004

31st October 2006, 10:20 AM	#1
Adam Lead Administrator Owner Join Date: Oct 1990 Posts: 6,014 Gold: 66,539 Thanks: 49 Thanked 571 Times in 187 Posts	Hubble telescope will get upgrade Yay Hubble telescope will get upgrade HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE Named after the great US astronomer Edwin Hubble Launched in 1990 into a 600km-high circular orbit Equipped with a 2.4m primary mirror and five instruments Length: 15.9m; diameter: 4.2m; Mass: 11,110kg Observations have probed about 24,000 celestial objects Made more than 93,000 trips around our planet Generates about 10 gigabytes of data each day Nasa chief Mike Griffin says shuttle astronauts will be sent to service the Hubble Space Telescope. The orbiting observatory has astounded astronomers and the public alike with its amazing pictures of the cosmos, but it will soon fail unless serviced. Dr Griffin told Nasa employees that recent modifications to the shuttle launch system meant he felt it was now safe to send a crew to work on Hubble. The mission, which will use the shuttle Discovery, should launch in 2008. "We are going to add a shuttle servicing mission - to the Hubble space telescope - to the shuttle's manifest to be flown before [the orbiter] retires," Dr Griffin told an audience at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland where the Hubble programme is managed. It's a great day for science, a great day for discovery, a great day for inspiration Maryland Senator Barbara Mikulski Without servicing, the observatory is not expected to last more than two or three years. Its batteries and gyroscopes, which are used to point the telescope, are degrading and they will now be replaced. The shuttle crew will also install two new instruments: the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3), and the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS). The new instruments will improve significantly Hubble's ability to see distant, faint objects in the early Universe. Click here to see a summary of the Hubble servicing plan Haven of safety The servicing mission should extend Hubble's orbital lifetime to at least 2013, by which time Nasa will be getting close to launching a successor: the James Webb Space Telescope. Dr Griffin's decision reverses that of his predecessor, Sean O'Keefe, who cancelled the planned visit in the wake of the Columbia shuttle disaster in 2003. Hubble's pictures of the cosmos have been astounding Enlarge Image The orbiter's heat shield had been damaged during launch and the ship was destroyed as it returned through the atmosphere for landing 16 days later. Mr O'Keefe had implemented a safe-haven policy for subsequent shuttle crews, which meant if their orbiters became damaged in a similar way they could stay on the International Space Station until rescued. A Hubble servicing mission was a casualty of this policy as shuttles do not carry sufficient fuel to move between the orbits of the observatory and the station. Dr Griffin's green light will now require Nasa to prepare an alternative rescue strategy if Discovery finds it has sustained catastrophic damage on the climb to orbit. Record of discovery This would involve sending up another shuttle to attempt a ship-to-ship transfer of astronauts. "There are very small odds that we would have a problem on ascent for which the remedy would be a launch-on-need shuttle - a rescue shuttle," explained Dr Griffin. The WFC3 undergoes testing at the Goddard Space Center "But against the very small probability that that could occur [we] have made the decision that we will carry that rescue option in the manifest; and that that rescue mission will consist of a shuttle waiting on the other pad from which we launch the Hubble mission." The news of a servicing mission will be greeted with jubilation by astronomers worldwide. The multi-billion-dollar mission has made a remarkable contribution to our understanding of the origin and evolution of the Universe. Hubble has obtained the deepest views of the cosmos, finding high-interest objects for other observatories to investigate in detail. Its studies of the Universe's expansion early in its mission dramatically refined the best estimates for the age of the cosmos. Its pictures have also produced definitive proof for the existence of black holes and confirmed theories of planetary formation. Scientists expect an upgraded Hubble to continue making groundbreaking discoveries. Maryland Senator Barbara Mikulski, who has campaigned for a servicing mission, called Tuesday "an exceptional day". "It's a great day for science, a great day for discovery, a great day for inspiration; because that's one of the things Hubble has meant to so many people," she told the Goddard meeting. SERVICING THE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE Shuttle Discovery will grab Hubble with a robotic arm and pull it on to a work platform to allow astronauts easy access to its interior Hubble has six gyroscopes that are critical to its control and pointing systems. These have started to fail and all will have to be replaced Six new batteries will rejuvenate the electrical system; astronauts will attach new thermal blankets to insulate sensitive components The telescope has two instrument bays; the COS and WFC3 will be slid into racks made vacant by the removal of older instruments An attempt will also be made to repair the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) which stopped working in 2004 Get your own personal forum Like these ones - Personal forum listing Bored @ work? Play in our arcade! Useful Tips on how to use UOForums Open your own blog

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