The Hubble Space Telescope received its first
Service Mission in December 1993. The missions
most important objective was to install two devices
to fix the Hubble Telescope's vision problem . The
space telescope could not focus all the light from
an object to a single sharp point because Hubble's
primary mirror was incorrectly shaped. Instead it
saw a fuzzy halo around objects it observed in space.
Interesting facts about Hubble Space Telescope is
there is no question that the Hubble Telescope gave
us amazing pictures and views of very early distant
galaxies. But because the universe is expanding,
the light from the most distant space galaxies is
shifted to infrared wavelengths. So to see the
galaxies the Hubble neede to be fitted with an
instrument that could observe infrared light.
In Feb. 1997 the Hubble Telescope received its
Second Servicing Mission. The space shuttle
Discovery was boarded by seven astronauts.
They installed two technologically advanced
instruments, onto the Hubble. To observe space
objects in infrared wavelengths the Near
Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer
was installed. The second instrument installed
was the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph,
which is used to take detailed pictures of celestial
objects and hunt for black holes.
Service Mission 3A in December 1999 was a
busy one for the space telescope. Their goal
was the replacement of gyroscopes, which
accurately point the Hubble at celestial targets.
The crew replaced all six gyroscopes as well
as one of Hubble's three fine guidance sensors,
which allow fine pointing and keep Hubble stable
during space observations.
Service Mission B for the Hubble Telescope occurred
on March 1st 2002 when NASA launched the space
shuttle Columbia, where its seven member crew met
with Hubble to perform a series of upgrades. The
astronauts performed five spacewalks. Their mission
was to install the Advanced Camera for Surveys.
The ACS doubled Hubble's field of view and collects
data ten times faster than before.
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Jeremy Hier is a freelance writer and regular contributer He likes to offer his advice and tips to consumers looking to purchase meade telescopes and celestron telescopes