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| Hubble at a Glance | |
|---|---|
| Hubble's name: | NASA named the world's first space-based optical telescope after American astronomer Edwin P. Hubble (1889-1953). Dr. Hubble confirmed an "expanding" universe, which provided the foundation for the Big Bang theory. |
| Launch: | April 24, 1990, from space shuttle Discovery (STS-31) |
| Deployment: | April 25, 1990 |
| Mission duration: | Up to 20 years |
| Servicing Mission 1: | December 1993 |
| Servicing Mission 2: | February 1997 |
| Servicing Mission 3A: | December 1999 |
| Servicing Mission 3B: | March 2002 |
| Servicing Mission4: | May 2009 |
| Length: | 43.5 ft (13.2 m) |
| Weight: | 24,500 lb (11,110 kg) |
| Maximum diameter: | 14 ft (4.2 m) |
| Cost at launch: | $1.5 billion |
| Orbit: | At an altitude of 380 statute miles (612 km), inclined 28.5 degrees to the equator (low-Earth orbit) |
| Time to complete one orbit: | 97 minutes |
| Speed: | 17,500 mph (28,000 kph) |
| Hubble can't observe: | The Sun or Mercury, which is too close to the Sun |
| Sensitivity to light: | Ultraviolet through near infrared (110-2,500 nanometers) |
| First image: | May 20, 1990: Star Cluster NGC 3532 |
| Data stats: | Each day the telescope generates enough data — 3 to 4 gigabytes — to fill six CD-ROMs. The orbiting observatory's observations have amounted to more than 7 terabytes of data. Hubble's digital archive delivers 10 to 20 gigabytes of data a day to astronomers all over the world. |
| Power mechanism: | Two 25-foot solar panels |
| Power usage: | 3,000 watts. In an average orbit, Hubble uses about the same amount of energy as 30 household light bulbs. |
| Pointing accuracy: | In order to take images of distant, faint objects, Hubble must be extremely steady and accurate. The telescope is able to lock onto a target without deviating more than 7/1000th of an arcsecond, or about the width of a human hair seen at a distance of 1 mile. Pointing the Hubble Space Telescope and locking onto distant celestial targets is like holding a laser light steady on a dime that is 400 miles away. |
| PRIMARY MIRROR | |
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| Diameter: | 94.5 in (2.4 m) |
| Weight: | 1,825 lb (828 kg) |
| SECONDARY MIRROR | |
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| Diameter: | 12 in (0.3 m) |
| Weight: | 27.4 lb (12.3 kg) |
| POWER STORAGE | |
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| Batteries: | 6 nickel-hydrogen (NiH) |
| Storage capacity: | Equal to 20 car batteries |
