Servicing Missions to the Hubble Space Telescope
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's pics 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 needs 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.
