NASA has established how a mirror aboard its $1.5 billion Hubble Telescope came to be the wrong shape. The agency said last week that errors in a test instrument apparently led Perkin-Elmer, which fabricated the optics, to finish the 2.4-metre primary mirror of the Hubble Space Telescope incorrectly.17-Aug-1990
Who screwed up the Hubble mirror?
Perkin-Elmer technicians Two committees of experts commissioned by NASA, as well as individual astronomers, diagnosed the problem as a simple optical aberration—spherical aberration. The 94-inch primary mirror had been ground too flat by the Perkin-Elmer technicians who were fabricating the mirror.
What went wrong with Hubble mirror?
Ultimately the problem was traced to miscalibrated equipment during the mirror's manufacture. The result was a mirror with an aberration one-50th the thickness of a human hair, in the grinding of the mirror.
What was wrong with Hubble and how did they fix it?
NASA finally fixed the Hubble Space Telescope after nearly five weeks without science operations. Hubble switched to backup hardware to correct the mysterious glitch that took it offline. Hubble's age likely caused the problem. NASA hopes it still has a few more years.
How many Eva’s did it take to fix the Hubble?
The astronauts performed five spacewalks, or extravehicular activities (EVAs), to upgrade and enhance Hubble's capabilities. The EVAs were conducted on consecutive days during the flight with spacewalkers pairing off into two teams. The spacewalks varied in length but they generally were around seven hours each.
How much did it cost to fix the Hubble telescope?
The total cost of the repair mission was $700 million. Astronomers would later say that the money was well-spent, as the images that came back from the repaired Hubble far surpassed those taken by any Earth-bound telescopes.
Is the Hubble broken?
NASA's Hubble telescope — one of the most critical tools for space exploration — is broken again. Since its launch in April 1990, Hubble has been an invaluable asset for scientists and astronomers all over the world.
How much would Hubble weigh here on Earth?
The total archive is currently over 150 TB in size. Hubble weighed about 24,000 pounds at launch but if returned to Earth today would weigh about 27,000 pounds — on the order of two full-grown African elephants. Hubble's primary mirror is 2.4 meters (7 feet, 10.5 inches) across.
How far above the earth is the Hubble?
about 547 kilometers Hubble orbits about 547 kilometers (340 miles) above Earth. It is the length of a large school bus and weighs as much as two adult elephants. Hubble travels about 5 miles per second: That is like traveling from the eastern coast of the United States to the western coast in 10 minutes. Hubble is solar-powered.
Who owns the Hubble telescope?
The Hubble Space Telescope is a joint ESA/NASA project and was launched in 1990 by the Space Shuttle mission STS-31 into a low-Earth orbit 569 km above the ground. During its lifetime Hubble has become one of the most important science projects ever.