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103-454: The Hubble Space Telescope (often referred to as HST or Hubble ) is a space telescope that was launched into low Earth orbit in 1990 and remains in operation. It was not the first space telescope , but it is one of the largest and most versatile, renowned as a vital research tool and as a public relations boon for astronomy . The Hubble telescope is named after astronomer Edwin Hubble and

206-517: A small-angle approximation , the angular resolution may be converted into a spatial resolution , Δ ℓ , by multiplication of the angle (in radians) with the distance to the object. For a microscope, that distance is close to the focal length f of the objective . For this case, the Rayleigh criterion reads: This is the radius , in the imaging plane, of the smallest spot to which a collimated beam of light can be focused, which also corresponds to

309-561: A spectral resolution of 90,000. Also optimized for ultraviolet observations were the FOC and FOS, which were capable of the highest spatial resolution of any instruments on Hubble. Rather than CCDs, these three instruments used photon -counting digicons as their detectors. The FOC was constructed by ESA, while the University of California, San Diego , and Martin Marietta Corporation built

412-471: A "sop" to the astronomy community. "There's something in there, so all is well". I figured in my own little head that to get that community energized we'd be better off zeroing it out. Then they would say, "Whoa, we're in deep trouble", and it would marshal the troops. So I advocated that we not put anything in. I don't remember any of the detailed discussions or whether there were any, but Jim went along with that so we zeroed it out. It had, from my perspective,

515-434: A 2-dimensional arrangement with a dimensional precision better than a fraction (0.25x) of the required image resolution. The angular resolution R of an interferometer array can usually be approximated by where λ is the wavelength of the observed radiation, and B is the length of the maximum physical separation of the telescopes in the array, called the baseline . The resulting R is in radians . Sources larger than

618-493: A costly program had a lengthy working life, and the concurrent development of plans for the reusable Space Shuttle indicated that the technology to allow this was soon to become available. The continuing success of the OAO program encouraged increasingly strong consensus within the astronomical community that the LST should be a major goal. In 1970, NASA established two committees, one to plan

721-418: A different point from the light reflecting off its center. The effect of the mirror flaw on scientific observations depended on the particular observation—the core of the aberrated PSF was sharp enough to permit high-resolution observations of bright objects, and spectroscopy of point sources was affected only through a sensitivity loss. However, the loss of light to the large, out-of-focus halo severely reduced

824-412: A distance, not to be confused with the angular resolution of a previous subsection) depends on the angular aperture α {\displaystyle \alpha } : Here NA is the numerical aperture , θ {\displaystyle \theta } is half the included angle α {\displaystyle \alpha } of the lens, which depends on the diameter of

927-435: A final sharp focus and the best image quality obtained was drastically lower than expected. Images of point sources spread out over a radius of more than one arcsecond, instead of having a point spread function (PSF) concentrated within a circle 0.1  arcseconds (485 n rad ) in diameter, as had been specified in the design criteria. Analysis of the flawed images revealed that the primary mirror had been polished to

1030-495: A lens the more likely the PSF is dominated by diffraction. In that case, the angular resolution of an optical system can be estimated (from the diameter of the aperture and the wavelength of the light) by the Rayleigh criterion defined by Lord Rayleigh : two point sources are regarded as just resolved when the principal diffraction maximum (center) of the Airy disk of one image coincides with

1133-432: A light microscope using visible light is about 200  nm . Given that the shortest wavelength of visible light is violet ( λ ≈ 400 n m {\displaystyle \lambda \approx 400\,\mathrm {nm} } ), which is near 200 nm. Oil immersion objectives can have practical difficulties due to their shallow depth of field and extremely short working distance, which calls for

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1236-526: A nitrogen gas purge was performed before launching the telescope into space. As well as electrical power systems, the Pointing Control System controls HST orientation using five types of sensors (magnetic sensors, optical sensors, and six gyroscopes) and two types of actuators ( reaction wheels and magnetic torquers ). While construction of the spacecraft in which the telescope and instruments would be housed proceeded somewhat more smoothly than

1339-494: A possibly failure-prone battery, and make other improvements. Furthermore, the ground software needed to control Hubble was not ready in 1986, and was barely ready by the 1990 launch. Following the resumption of shuttle flights, Space Shuttle Discovery successfully launched the Hubble on April 24, 1990, as part of the STS-31 mission. At launch, NASA had spent approximately US$ 4.7 billion in inflation-adjusted 2010 dollars on

1442-455: A reflective coating of 65 nm-thick aluminum and a protective coating of 25 nm-thick magnesium fluoride . Doubts continued to be expressed about Perkin-Elmer's competence on a project of this importance, as their budget and timescale for producing the rest of the OTA continued to inflate. In response to a schedule described as "unsettled and changing daily", NASA postponed the launch date of

1545-512: A report emphasizing the need for a space telescope, and eventually, the Senate agreed to half the budget that had originally been approved by Congress. The funding issues led to a reduction in the scale of the project, with the proposed mirror diameter reduced from 3 m to 2.4 m, both to cut costs and to allow a more compact and effective configuration for the telescope hardware. A proposed precursor 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) space telescope to test

1648-549: A resolution of 0.64 megapixels. The wide field camera (WFC) covered a large angular field at the expense of resolution, while the planetary camera (PC) took images at a longer effective focal length than the WF chips, giving it a greater magnification. The Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph (GHRS) was a spectrograph designed to operate in the ultraviolet. It was built by the Goddard Space Flight Center and could achieve

1751-495: A telescope can usually be approximated by where λ is the wavelength of the observed radiation, and D is the diameter of the telescope's objective . The resulting R is in radians . For example, in the case of yellow light with a wavelength of 580  nm , for a resolution of 0.1 arc second, we need D=1.2 m. Sources larger than the angular resolution are called extended sources or diffuse sources, and smaller sources are called point sources. This formula, for light with

1854-571: A telescope could be propelled into Earth orbit by a rocket. The history of the Hubble Space Telescope can be traced to 1946, to astronomer Lyman Spitzer 's paper "Astronomical advantages of an extraterrestrial observatory". In it, he discussed the two main advantages that a space-based observatory would have over ground-based telescopes. First, the angular resolution (the smallest separation at which objects can be clearly distinguished) would be limited only by diffraction , rather than by

1957-561: A telescope in space. Spitzer's proposal called for a large telescope that would not be hindered by Earth's atmosphere. After lobbying in the 1960s and 70s for such a system to be built, Spitzer's vision ultimately materialized into the Hubble Space Telescope , which was launched on April 24, 1990, by the Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-31). This was launched due to many efforts by Nancy Grace Roman, "mother of Hubble", who

2060-496: A wavelength of about 562 nm, is also called the Dawes' limit . The highest angular resolutions for telescopes can be achieved by arrays of telescopes called astronomical interferometers : These instruments can achieve angular resolutions of 0.001 arcsecond at optical wavelengths, and much higher resolutions at x-ray wavelengths. In order to perform aperture synthesis imaging , a large number of telescopes are required laid out in

2163-406: A way that is not accurately predictable. The density of the upper atmosphere varies according to many factors, and this means Hubble's predicted position for six weeks' time could be in error by up to 4,000 km (2,500 mi). Observation schedules are typically finalized only a few days in advance, as a longer lead time would mean there was a chance the target would be unobservable by the time it

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2266-485: A wide field of view, with the disadvantage that the mirrors have shapes that are hard to fabricate and test. The mirror and optical systems of the telescope determine the final performance, and they were designed to exacting specifications. Optical telescopes typically have mirrors polished to an accuracy of about a tenth of the wavelength of visible light , but the Space Telescope was to be used for observations from

2369-530: Is defined by the Rayleigh criterion as the angular separation of two point sources when the maximum of each source lies in the first minimum of the diffraction pattern ( Airy disk ) of the other. In scientific analysis, in general, the term "resolution" is used to describe the precision with which any instrument measures and records (in an image or spectrum) any variable in the specimen or sample under study. The imaging system's resolution can be limited either by aberration or by diffraction causing blurring of

2472-406: Is given by the Rayleigh criterion, is low for a system with a high resolution. The closely related term spatial resolution refers to the precision of a measurement with respect to space, which is directly connected to angular resolution in imaging instruments. The Rayleigh criterion shows that the minimum angular spread that can be resolved by an image-forming system is limited by diffraction to

2575-533: Is limited by the filtering and distortion of electromagnetic radiation ( scintillation or twinkling) due to the atmosphere . A telescope orbiting Earth outside the atmosphere is subject neither to twinkling nor to light pollution from artificial light sources on Earth. As a result, the angular resolution of space telescopes is often much higher than a ground-based telescope with a similar aperture . Many larger terrestrial telescopes, however, reduce atmospheric effects with adaptive optics . Space-based astronomy

2678-493: Is more important for frequency ranges that are outside the optical window and the radio window , the only two wavelength ranges of the electromagnetic spectrum that are not severely attenuated by the atmosphere. For example, X-ray astronomy is nearly impossible when done from Earth, and has reached its current importance in astronomy only due to orbiting X-ray telescopes such as the Chandra X-ray Observatory and

2781-506: Is one of NASA's Great Observatories . The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) selects Hubble's targets and processes the resulting data, while the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) controls the spacecraft. Hubble features a 2.4 m (7 ft 10 in) mirror, and its five main instruments observe in the ultraviolet , visible , and near-infrared regions of the electromagnetic spectrum . Hubble's orbit outside

2884-809: Is physically located in Baltimore , Maryland on the Homewood campus of Johns Hopkins University , one of the 39 U.S. universities and seven international affiliates that make up the AURA consortium. STScI was established in 1981 after something of a power struggle between NASA and the scientific community at large. NASA had wanted to keep this function in-house, but scientists wanted it to be based in an academic establishment. The Space Telescope European Coordinating Facility (ST-ECF), established at Garching bei München near Munich in 1984, provided similar support for European astronomers until 2011, when these activities were moved to

2987-411: Is slightly narrower than calculated with the Rayleigh criterion. A calculation using Airy discs as point spread function shows that at Dawes' limit there is a 5% dip between the two maxima, whereas at Rayleigh's criterion there is a 26.3% dip. Modern image processing techniques including deconvolution of the point spread function allow resolution of binaries with even less angular separation. Using

3090-429: Is smaller, they are regarded as not resolved. Rayleigh defended this criterion on sources of equal strength. Considering diffraction through a circular aperture, this translates into: where θ is the angular resolution ( radians ), λ is the wavelength of light, and D is the diameter of the lens' aperture. The factor 1.22 is derived from a calculation of the position of the first dark circular ring surrounding

3193-400: Is the power of an optical instrument to separate far away objects, that are close together, into individual images. The term resolution or minimum resolvable distance is the minimum distance between distinguishable objects in an image, although the term is loosely used by many users of microscopes and telescopes to describe resolving power. As explained below, diffraction-limited resolution

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3296-453: Is used in optics applied to light waves, in antenna theory applied to radio waves, and in acoustics applied to sound waves. The colloquial use of the term "resolution" sometimes causes confusion; when an optical system is said to have a high resolution or high angular resolution, it means that the perceived distance, or actual angular distance, between resolved neighboring objects is small. The value that quantifies this property, θ, which

3399-574: The Challenger disaster brought the U.S. space program to a halt, grounded the Shuttle fleet, and forced the launch to be postponed for several years. During this delay the telescope was kept in a clean room, powered up and purged with nitrogen, until a launch could be rescheduled. This costly situation (about US$ 6 million per month) pushed the overall costs of the project higher. However, this delay allowed time for engineers to perform extensive tests, swap out

3502-617: The Columbia disaster (2003), but after NASA administrator Michael D. Griffin approved it, the servicing mission was completed in 2009. Hubble completed 30 years of operation in April 2020 and is predicted to last until 2030 to 2040. Hubble is the visible light telescope in NASA's Great Observatories program ; other parts of the spectrum are covered by the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory ,

3605-814: The Chandra X-ray Observatory , and the Spitzer Space Telescope (which covers the infrared bands). The mid-IR-to-visible band successor to the Hubble telescope is the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), which was launched on December 25, 2021, with the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope due to follow in 2027. In 1923, Hermann Oberth —considered a father of modern rocketry, along with Robert H. Goddard and Konstantin Tsiolkovsky —published Die Rakete zu den Planetenräumen ("The Rocket into Planetary Space"), which mentioned how

3708-765: The Soviet space program (later succeeded by Roscosmos of Russia). As of 2022, many space observatories have already completed their missions, while others continue operating on extended time. However, the future availability of space telescopes and observatories depends on timely and sufficient funding. While future space observatories are planned by NASA, JAXA and the CNSA , scientists fear that there would be gaps in coverage that would not be covered immediately by future projects and this would affect research in fundamental science. On 16 January 2023, NASA announced preliminary considerations of several future space telescope programs, including

3811-564: The XMM-Newton observatory . Infrared and ultraviolet are also largely blocked. Space telescopes are much more expensive to build than ground-based telescopes. Due to their location, space telescopes are also extremely difficult to maintain. The Hubble Space Telescope was serviced by the Space Shuttle , but most space telescopes cannot be serviced at all. Satellites have been launched and operated by NASA , ISRO , ESA , CNSA , JAXA and

3914-407: The atmosphere of Earth . Spitzer devoted much of his career to pushing for the development of a space telescope. In 1962, a report by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences recommended development of a space telescope as part of the space program , and in 1965, Spitzer was appointed as head of a committee given the task of defining scientific objectives for a large space telescope. Also crucial

4017-452: The optical telescope assembly (OTA) and Fine Guidance Sensors for the space telescope. Lockheed was commissioned to construct and integrate the spacecraft in which the telescope would be housed. Optically, the HST is a Cassegrain reflector of Ritchey–Chrétien design , as are most large professional telescopes. This design, with two hyperbolic mirrors, is known for good imaging performance over

4120-400: The single-slit experiment . Light passing through the lens interferes with itself creating a ring-shape diffraction pattern, known as the Airy pattern , if the wavefront of the transmitted light is taken to be spherical or plane over the exit aperture. The interplay between diffraction and aberration can be characterised by the point spread function (PSF). The narrower the aperture of

4223-462: The 1991 comedy The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear , in a scene where historical disasters are displayed, Hubble is pictured with RMS Titanic and LZ 129 Hindenburg . Nonetheless, during the first three years of the Hubble mission, before the optical corrections, the telescope carried out a large number of productive observations of less demanding targets. The error was well characterized and stable, enabling astronomers to partially compensate for

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4326-558: The DF-224 was added during Servicing Mission 1 in 1993, which consisted of two redundant strings of an Intel-based 80386 processor with an 80387 math co-processor. The DF-224 and its 386 co-processor were replaced by a 25 MHz Intel-based 80486 processor system during Servicing Mission 3A in 1999. The new computer is 20 times faster, with six times more memory, than the DF-224 it replaced. It increases throughput by moving some computing tasks from

4429-664: The European Space Astronomy Centre. One complex task that falls to STScI is scheduling observations for the telescope. Hubble is in a low-Earth orbit to enable servicing missions, which results in most astronomical targets being occulted by the Earth for slightly less than half of each orbit. Observations cannot take place when the telescope passes through the South Atlantic Anomaly due to elevated radiation levels, and there are also sizable exclusion zones around

4532-576: The FOS. The final instrument was the HSP, designed and built at the University of Wisconsin–Madison . It was optimized for visible and ultraviolet light observations of variable stars and other astronomical objects varying in brightness. It could take up to 100,000 measurements per second with a photometric accuracy of about 2% or better. HST's guidance system can also be used as a scientific instrument. Its three Fine Guidance Sensors (FGS) are primarily used to keep

4635-596: The Faint Object Spectrograph (FOS). WF/PC used a radial instrument bay, and the other four instruments were each installed in an axial instrument bay. WF/PC was a high-resolution imaging device primarily intended for optical observations. It was built by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory , and incorporated a set of 48 filters isolating spectral lines of particular astrophysical interest. The instrument contained eight charge-coupled device (CCD) chips divided between two cameras, each using four CCDs. Each CCD has

4738-500: The Great Observatory Technology Maturation Program, Habitable Worlds Observatory , and New Great Observatories. Angular resolution Angular resolution describes the ability of any image-forming device such as an optical or radio telescope , a microscope , a camera , or an eye , to distinguish small details of an object, thereby making it a major determinant of image resolution . It

4841-543: The Hubble telescope was funded and built in the 1970s by the United States space agency NASA with contributions from the European Space Agency . Its intended launch was in 1983, but the project was beset by technical delays, budget problems, and the 1986 Challenger disaster . Hubble was finally launched in 1990, but its main mirror had been ground incorrectly, resulting in spherical aberration that compromised

4944-425: The Shuttle servicing missions. COSTAR was a corrective optics device rather than a science instrument, but occupied one of the four axial instrument bays. Since the final servicing mission in 2009, the four active instruments have been ACS, COS, STIS and WFC3. NICMOS is kept in hibernation, but may be revived if WFC3 were to fail in the future. Of the former instruments, three (COSTAR, FOS and WFPC2) are displayed in

5047-693: The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum . The FOC is in the Dornier museum, Germany. The HSP is in the Space Place at the University of Wisconsin–Madison . The first WFPC was dismantled, and some components were then re-used in WFC3. Within weeks of the launch of the telescope, the returned images indicated a serious problem with the optical system. Although the first images appeared to be sharper than those of ground-based telescopes, Hubble failed to achieve

5150-564: The Sun (precluding observations of Mercury ), Moon and Earth. The solar avoidance angle is about 50°, to keep sunlight from illuminating any part of the OTA. Earth and Moon avoidance keeps bright light out of the FGSs, and keeps scattered light from entering the instruments. If the FGSs are turned off, the Moon and Earth can be observed. Earth observations were used very early in the program to generate flat-fields for

5253-734: The WFPC1 instrument. There is a so-called continuous viewing zone (CVZ), within roughly 24° of Hubble's orbital poles , in which targets are not occulted for long periods. Due to the precession of the orbit, the location of the CVZ moves slowly over a period of eight weeks. Because the limb of the Earth is always within about 30° of regions within the CVZ, the brightness of scattered earthshine may be elevated for long periods during CVZ observations. Hubble orbits in low Earth orbit at an altitude of approximately 540 kilometers (340 mi) and an inclination of 28.5°. The position along its orbit changes over time in

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5356-426: The angular resolution are called extended sources or diffuse sources, and smaller sources are called point sources. For example, in order to form an image in yellow light with a wavelength of 580 nm, for a resolution of 1 milli-arcsecond, we need telescopes laid out in an array that is 120 m × 120 m with a dimensional precision better than 145 nm. The resolution R (here measured as

5459-419: The case that both NAs are the same, the equation may be reduced to: The practical limit for θ {\displaystyle \theta } is about 70°. In a dry objective or condenser, this gives a maximum NA of 0.95. In a high-resolution oil immersion lens , the maximum NA is typically 1.45, when using immersion oil with a refractive index of 1.52. Due to these limitations, the resolution limit of

5562-614: The central Airy disc of the diffraction pattern. This number is more precisely 1.21966989... ( OEIS :  A245461 ), the first zero of the order-one Bessel function of the first kind J 1 ( x ) {\displaystyle J_{1}(x)} divided by π . The formal Rayleigh criterion is close to the empirical resolution limit found earlier by the English astronomer W. R. Dawes , who tested human observers on close binary stars of equal brightness. The result, θ = 4.56/ D , with D in inches and θ in arcseconds ,

5665-643: The construction of the OTA, Lockheed experienced some budget and schedule slippage, and by the summer 1985, construction of the spacecraft was 30% over budget and three months behind schedule. An MSFC report said Lockheed tended to rely on NASA directions rather than take their own initiative in the construction. The two initial, primary computers on the HST were the 1.25 MHz DF-224 system, built by Rockwell Autonetics, which contained three redundant CPUs, and two redundant NSSC-1 (NASA Standard Spacecraft Computer, Model 1) systems, developed by Westinghouse and GSFC using diode–transistor logic (DTL). A co-processor for

5768-486: The defective mirror by using sophisticated image processing techniques such as deconvolution . A commission headed by Lew Allen , director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory , was established to determine how the error could have arisen. The Allen Commission found that a reflective null corrector , a testing device used to achieve a properly shaped non-spherical mirror, had been incorrectly assembled—one lens

5871-496: The desired impact of stimulating the astronomy community to renew their efforts on the lobbying front. While I like to think in hindsight it was a brilliant political move, I'm not sure I thought it through all that well. It was something that was spur of the moment. [...] $ 5 million would let them think that all is well anyway, but it's not. So let's give them a message. My own thinking, get them stimulated to get into action. Zeroing it out would certainly give that message. I think it

5974-447: The distortion of Earth's atmosphere allows it to capture extremely high-resolution images with substantially lower background light than ground-based telescopes. It has recorded some of the most detailed visible light images, allowing a deep view into space. Many Hubble observations have led to breakthroughs in astrophysics , such as determining the rate of expansion of the universe . Space telescopes were proposed as early as 1923, and

6077-428: The engineering side of the space telescope project, and the other to determine the scientific goals of the mission. Once these had been established, the next hurdle for NASA was to obtain funding for the instrument, which would be far more costly than any Earth-based telescope. The U.S. Congress questioned many aspects of the proposed budget for the telescope and forced cuts in the budget for the planning stages, which at

6180-514: The existing WF/PC, included relay mirrors to direct light onto the four separate charge-coupled device (CCD) chips making up its two cameras. An inverse error built into their surfaces could completely cancel the aberration of the primary. However, the other instruments lacked any intermediate surfaces that could be configured in this way, and so required an external correction device. Space telescope In 1946, American theoretical astrophysicist Lyman Spitzer , "father of Hubble" proposed to put

6283-410: The first minimum of the Airy disk of the other, as shown in the accompanying photos. (In the bottom photo on the right that shows the Rayleigh criterion limit, the central maximum of one point source might look as though it lies outside the first minimum of the other, but examination with a ruler verifies that the two do intersect.) If the distance is greater, the two points are well resolved and if it

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6386-404: The go-ahead, work on the program was divided among many institutions. Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) was given responsibility for the design, development, and construction of the telescope, while Goddard Space Flight Center was given overall control of the scientific instruments and ground-control center for the mission. MSFC commissioned the optics company Perkin-Elmer to design and build

6489-433: The ground to the spacecraft and saves money by allowing the use of modern programming languages. Additionally, some of the science instruments and components had their own embedded microprocessor-based control systems. The MATs (Multiple Access Transponder) components, MAT-1 and MAT-2, use Hughes Aircraft CDP1802CD microprocessors. The Wide Field and Planetary Camera (WFPC) also used an RCA 1802 microprocessor (or possibly

6592-621: The image to the f-number , f / #: Since this is the radius of the Airy disk, the resolution is better estimated by the diameter, 2.44 λ ⋅ ( f / # ) {\displaystyle 2.44\lambda \cdot (f/\#)} Point-like sources separated by an angle smaller than the angular resolution cannot be resolved. A single optical telescope may have an angular resolution less than one arcsecond , but astronomical seeing and other atmospheric effects make attaining this very hard. The angular resolution R of

6695-413: The image. These two phenomena have different origins and are unrelated. Aberrations can be explained by geometrical optics and can in principle be solved by increasing the optical quality of the system. On the other hand, diffraction comes from the wave nature of light and is determined by the finite aperture of the optical elements. The lens ' circular aperture is analogous to a two-dimensional version of

6798-472: The important role space-based observations could play in astronomy. In 1968, NASA developed firm plans for a space-based reflecting telescope with a mirror 3 m (9.8 ft) in diameter, known provisionally as the Large Orbiting Telescope or Large Space Telescope (LST), with a launch slated for 1979. These plans emphasized the need for crewed maintenance missions to the telescope to ensure such

6901-458: The intended −1.00230 . The same number was also derived by analyzing the null corrector used by Perkin-Elmer to figure the mirror, as well as by analyzing interferograms obtained during ground testing of the mirror. Because of the way the HST's instruments were designed, two different sets of correctors were required. The design of the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2, already planned to replace

7004-496: The lens and its focal length, n {\displaystyle n} is the refractive index of the medium between the lens and the specimen, and λ {\displaystyle \lambda } is the wavelength of light illuminating or emanating from (in the case of fluorescence microscopy) the sample. It follows that the NAs of both the objective and the condenser should be as high as possible for maximum resolution. In

7107-414: The mirror being ground very precisely but to the wrong shape. During fabrication, a few tests using conventional null correctors correctly reported spherical aberration . But these results were dismissed, thus missing the opportunity to catch the error, because the reflective null corrector was considered more accurate. The commission blamed the failings primarily on Perkin-Elmer. Relations between NASA and

7210-419: The mirror to the required shape. However, in case their cutting-edge technology ran into difficulties, NASA demanded that PE sub-contract to Kodak to construct a back-up mirror using traditional mirror-polishing techniques. (The team of Kodak and Itek also bid on the original mirror polishing work. Their bid called for the two companies to double-check each other's work, which would have almost certainly caught

7313-424: The mirror's weight to a minimum it consisted of top and bottom plates, each 25 mm (0.98 in) thick, sandwiching a honeycomb lattice. Perkin-Elmer simulated microgravity by supporting the mirror from the back with 130 rods that exerted varying amounts of force. This ensured the mirror's final shape would be correct and to specification when deployed. Mirror polishing continued until May 1981. NASA reports at

7416-425: The mirror. While the commission heavily criticized Perkin-Elmer for these managerial failings, NASA was also criticized for not picking up on the quality control shortcomings, such as relying totally on test results from a single instrument. Many feared that Hubble would be abandoned. The design of the telescope had always incorporated servicing missions, and astronomers immediately began to seek potential solutions to

7519-425: The observing time on the telescope. Congress eventually approved funding of US$ 36 million for 1978, and the design of the LST began in earnest, aiming for a launch date of 1983. In 1983, the telescope was named after Edwin Hubble , who confirmed one of the greatest scientific discoveries of the 20th century, made by Georges Lemaître , that the universe is expanding . Once the Space Telescope project had been given

7622-651: The older 1801 version). The WFPC-1 was replaced by the WFPC-2 during Servicing Mission 1 in 1993, which was then replaced by the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) during Servicing Mission 4 in 2009. The upgrade extended Hubble's capability of seeing deeper into the universe and providing images in three broad regions of the spectrum. When launched, the HST carried five scientific instruments: the Wide Field and Planetary Camera (WF/PC), Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph (GHRS), High Speed Photometer (HSP), Faint Object Camera (FOC) and

7725-411: The optics company had been severely strained during the telescope construction, due to frequent schedule slippage and cost overruns. NASA found that Perkin-Elmer did not review or supervise the mirror construction adequately, did not assign its best optical scientists to the project (as it had for the prototype), and in particular did not involve the optical designers in the construction and verification of

7828-580: The polishing error that later caused problems .) The Kodak mirror is now on permanent display at the National Air and Space Museum . An Itek mirror built as part of the effort is now used in the 2.4 m telescope at the Magdalena Ridge Observatory . Construction of the Perkin-Elmer mirror began in 1979, starting with a blank manufactured by Corning from their ultra-low expansion glass. To keep

7931-425: The problem that could be applied at the first servicing mission, scheduled for 1993. While Kodak had ground a back-up mirror for Hubble, it would have been impossible to replace the mirror in orbit, and too expensive and time-consuming to bring the telescope back to Earth for a refit. Instead, the fact that the mirror had been ground so precisely to the wrong shape led to the design of new optical components with exactly

8034-574: The project. Hubble's cumulative costs are estimated to be about US$ 11.3 billion in 2015 dollars, which include all subsequent servicing costs, but not ongoing operations, making it the most expensive science mission in NASA history. Hubble accommodates five science instruments at a given time, plus the Fine Guidance Sensors , which are mainly used for aiming the telescope but are occasionally used for scientific astrometry measurements. Early instruments were replaced with more advanced ones during

8137-405: The ratio of the wavelength of the waves to the aperture width. For this reason, high-resolution imaging systems such as astronomical telescopes , long distance telephoto camera lenses and radio telescopes have large apertures. Resolving power is the ability of an imaging device to separate (i.e., to see as distinct) points of an object that are located at a small angular distance or it

8240-407: The same error but in the opposite sense, to be added to the telescope at the servicing mission, effectively acting as " spectacles " to correct the spherical aberration. The first step was a precise characterization of the error in the main mirror. Working backwards from images of point sources, astronomers determined that the conic constant of the mirror as built was −1.01390 ± 0.0002 , instead of

8343-427: The scientific community into fighting for full funding. As Hinners recalls: It was clear that year that we weren't going to be able to get a full-up start. There was some opposition on [Capitol] Hill to getting a new start on [Hubble]. It was driven, in large part as I recall, by the budget situation. Jim Fletcher proposed that we put in $ 5 million as a placeholder. I didn't like that idea. It was, in today's vernacular,

8446-436: The size of the smallest object that the lens can resolve. The size is proportional to wavelength, λ , and thus, for example, blue light can be focused to a smaller spot than red light. If the lens is focusing a beam of light with a finite extent (e.g., a laser beam), the value of D corresponds to the diameter of the light beam, not the lens. Since the spatial resolution is inversely proportional to D , this leads to

8549-461: The slightly surprising result that a wide beam of light may be focused on a smaller spot than a narrow one. This result is related to the Fourier properties of a lens. A similar result holds for a small sensor imaging a subject at infinity: The angular resolution can be converted to a spatial resolution on the sensor by using f as the distance to the image sensor; this relates the spatial resolution of

8652-485: The systems to be used on the main satellite was dropped, and budgetary concerns also prompted collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA). ESA agreed to provide funding and supply one of the first generation instruments for the telescope, as well as the solar cells that would power it, and staff to work on the telescope in the United States, in return for European astronomers being guaranteed at least 15% of

8755-548: The telescope accurately pointed during an observation, but can also be used to carry out extremely accurate astrometry ; measurements accurate to within 0.0003 arcseconds have been achieved. The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) is responsible for the scientific operation of the telescope and the delivery of data products to astronomers. STScI is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) and

8858-452: The telescope and instruments sit. Within the shell, a graphite-epoxy frame keeps the working parts of the telescope firmly aligned. Because graphite composites are hygroscopic , there was a risk that water vapor absorbed by the truss while in Lockheed's clean room would later be expressed in the vacuum of space; resulting in the telescope's instruments being covered by ice. To reduce that risk,

8961-399: The telescope until April 1985. Perkin-Elmer's schedules continued to slip at a rate of about one month per quarter, and at times delays reached one day for each day of work. NASA was forced to postpone the launch date until March and then September 1986. By this time, the total project budget had risen to US$ 1.175 billion. The spacecraft in which the telescope and instruments were to be housed

9064-403: The telescope's capabilities. The optics were corrected to their intended quality by a servicing mission in 1993. Hubble is the only telescope designed to be maintained in space by astronauts. Five Space Shuttle missions have repaired, upgraded, and replaced systems on the telescope, including all five of the main instruments. The fifth mission was initially canceled on safety grounds following

9167-650: The telescope. Her work as project scientist helped set the standards for NASA's operation of large scientific projects. Space-based astronomy had begun on a very small scale following World War II , as scientists made use of developments that had taken place in rocket technology. The first ultraviolet spectrum of the Sun was obtained in 1946, and NASA launched the Orbiting Solar Observatory (OSO) to obtain UV, X-ray, and gamma-ray spectra in 1962. An orbiting solar telescope

9270-448: The time consisted of very detailed studies of potential instruments and hardware for the telescope. In 1974, public spending cuts led to Congress deleting all funding for the telescope project. In 1977, then NASA Administrator James C. Fletcher proposed a token $ 5 million for Hubble in NASA's budget. Then NASA Associate Administrator for Space Science, Noel Hinners , instead cut all funding for Hubble, gambling that this would galvanize

9373-407: The time questioned Perkin-Elmer's managerial structure, and the polishing began to slip behind schedule and over budget. To save money, NASA halted work on the back-up mirror and moved the launch date of the telescope to October 1984. The mirror was completed by the end of 1981; it was washed using 9,100 L (2,000 imp gal; 2,400 US gal) of hot, deionized water and then received

9476-464: The turbulence in the atmosphere, which causes stars to twinkle, known to astronomers as seeing . At that time ground-based telescopes were limited to resolutions of 0.5–1.0 arcseconds , compared to a theoretical diffraction-limited resolution of about 0.05 arcsec for an optical telescope with a mirror 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) in diameter. Second, a space-based telescope could observe infrared and ultraviolet light, which are strongly absorbed by

9579-529: The use of very thin (0.17 mm) cover slips, or, in an inverted microscope, thin glass-bottomed Petri dishes . However, resolution below this theoretical limit can be achieved using super-resolution microscopy . These include optical near-fields ( Near-field scanning optical microscope ) or a diffraction technique called 4Pi STED microscopy . Objects as small as 30 nm have been resolved with both techniques. In addition to this Photoactivated localization microscopy can resolve structures of that size, but

9682-408: The usefulness of the telescope for faint objects or high-contrast imaging. This meant nearly all the cosmological programs were essentially impossible, since they required observation of exceptionally faint objects. This led politicians to question NASA's competence, scientists to rue the cost which could have gone to more productive endeavors, and comedians to make jokes about NASA and the telescope. In

9785-654: The visible through the ultraviolet (shorter wavelengths) and was specified to be diffraction limited to take full advantage of the space environment. Therefore, its mirror needed to be polished to an accuracy of 10 nanometers, or about 1/65 of the wavelength of red light. On the long wavelength end, the OTA was not designed with optimum infrared performance in mind—for example, the mirrors are kept at stable (and warm, about 15 °C) temperatures by heaters. This limits Hubble's performance as an infrared telescope. Perkin-Elmer (PE) intended to use custom-built and extremely sophisticated computer-controlled polishing machines to grind

9888-404: The wrong shape. Although it was believed to be one of the most precisely figured optical mirrors ever made, smooth to about 10 nanometers, the outer perimeter was too flat by about 2200 nanometers (about 1 ⁄ 450 mm or 1 ⁄ 11000 inch). This difference was catastrophic, introducing severe spherical aberration, a flaw in which light reflecting off the edge of a mirror focuses on

9991-407: Was another major engineering challenge. It would have to withstand frequent passages from direct sunlight into the darkness of Earth's shadow , which would cause major changes in temperature, while being stable enough to allow extremely accurate pointing of the telescope. A shroud of multi-layer insulation keeps the temperature within the telescope stable and surrounds a light aluminum shell in which

10094-466: Was as simple as that. Didn't talk to anybody else about doing it first, just, "Let's go do that". Voila, it worked. Don't know whether I'd do that again. The political ploy worked. In response to Hubble being zeroed out of NASA's budget, a nationwide lobbying effort was coordinated among astronomers. Many astronomers met congressmen and senators in person, and large-scale letter-writing campaigns were organized. The National Academy of Sciences published

10197-523: Was due to be observed. Engineering support for HST is provided by NASA and contractor personnel at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland , 48 km (30 mi) south of the STScI. Hubble's operation is monitored 24 hours per day by four teams of flight controllers who make up Hubble's Flight Operations Team. By January 1986, the planned launch date for Hubble that October looked feasible, but

10300-601: Was launched in 1962 by the United Kingdom as part of the Ariel programme , and in 1966 NASA launched the first Orbiting Astronomical Observatory (OAO) mission. OAO-1's battery failed after three days, terminating the mission. It was followed by Orbiting Astronomical Observatory 2 (OAO-2), which carried out ultraviolet observations of stars and galaxies from its launch in 1968 until 1972, well beyond its original planned lifetime of one year. The OSO and OAO missions demonstrated

10403-413: Was out of position by 1.3 mm (0.051 in). During the initial grinding and polishing of the mirror, Perkin-Elmer analyzed its surface with two conventional refractive null correctors. However, for the final manufacturing step ( figuring ), they switched to the custom-built reflective null corrector, designed explicitly to meet very strict tolerances. The incorrect assembly of this device resulted in

10506-608: Was the first Chief of Astronomy and first female executive at NASA. She was a program scientist that worked to convince NASA, Congress, and others that Hubble was "very well worth doing". The first operational space telescopes were the American Orbiting Astronomical Observatory , OAO-2 launched in 1968, and the Soviet Orion 1 ultraviolet telescope aboard space station Salyut 1 in 1971. Performing astronomy from ground-based observatories on Earth

10609-422: Was the work of Nancy Grace Roman , the "Mother of Hubble". Well before it became an official NASA project, she gave public lectures touting the scientific value of the telescope. After it was approved, she became the program scientist, setting up the steering committee in charge of making astronomer needs feasible to implement and writing testimony to Congress throughout the 1970s to advocate continued funding of

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