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Servicing Missions to the Hubble Space Telescope


The Hubble Space Telescope received its firstService Mission in December 1993. The missionsmost important objective was to install two devicesto fix the Hubble Telescope's vision problem . Thespace telescope could not focus all the light froman object to a single sharp point because Hubble'sprimary mirror was incorrectly shaped. Instead itsaw a fuzzy halo around objects it observed in space.

Interesting facts about Hubble Space Telescope isthere is no question that the Hubble Telescope gaveus amazing pictures and views of very early distantgalaxies. But because the universe is expanding,the light from the most distant space galaxies isshifted to infrared wavelengths. So to see thegalaxies the Hubble neede to be fitted with aninstrument that could observe infrared light.

In Feb. 1997 the Hubble Telescope received itsSecond Servicing Mission. The space shuttleDiscovery was boarded by seven astronauts.They installed two technologically advancedinstruments, onto the Hubble. To observe spaceobjects in infrared wavelengths the NearInfrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometerwas installed. The second instrument installedwas the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph,which is used to take detailed pictures of celestialobjects and hunt for black holes.

Service Mission 3A in December 1999 was abusy one for the space telescope. Their goalwas the replacement of gyroscopes, whichaccurately point the Hubble at celestial targets.The crew replaced all six gyroscopes as wellas one of Hubble's three fine guidance sensors,which allow fine pointing and keep Hubble stableduring space observations.

Service Mission B for the Hubble Telescope occurredon March 1st 2002 when NASA launched the spaceshuttle Columbia, where its seven member crew metwith Hubble to perform a series of upgrades. Theastronauts performed five spacewalks. Their missionwas to install the Advanced Camera for Surveys.The ACS doubled Hubble's field of view and collectsdata ten times faster than before.

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Jeremy Hier is the Business Manager and Webmaster ofBest Telescope GuidesJeremy 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

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