Today is Hubble's 15th birthday :):):). The Hubble Space Telescope is an optical telescope, orbiting the Earth at the outer reaches of the atmosphere. Launched in 1990, it is named after astronomer Edwin Hubble, who discovered the red-shifts in spectra of distant galaxies, which proved that the universe was indeed expanding. The Hubble is supposed to work till 2009, after which it should be replaced by the James Webb Space Telescope.
Spiral galaxy M51 or NGC-5194 (Courtesy: HubbleSite)
I still remember the day when the Hubble was launched as part of the payload of the shuttle Discovery. Soon crippled due to a problematic mirror, the Hubble was heroically brought back to good health by a service mission (STS-61) in 1993. Further missions to Hubble in 1997 (STS-82), 1999 (STS-103) and 2002 (STS-109) constantly upgraded the telescope, and kept it in a great running condition :).
However, if nothing is done soon, Hubble is doomed :(. A mission, due to be in February 2005, was scrapped after the Columbia disaster. Limping on failing equipments, Hubble might finally undergo a deorbit, and be crashed in the Pacific Ocean in a fireball. Perhaps a fitting end to a fantastic equipment, that has photographed many a fireballs in space, and has expanded our understanding of the cosmos to new heights as never before.
Happy Birthday, Hubble. I wish you lived longer :(.
Spiral galaxy M51 or NGC-5194 (Courtesy: HubbleSite)
I still remember the day when the Hubble was launched as part of the payload of the shuttle Discovery. Soon crippled due to a problematic mirror, the Hubble was heroically brought back to good health by a service mission (STS-61) in 1993. Further missions to Hubble in 1997 (STS-82), 1999 (STS-103) and 2002 (STS-109) constantly upgraded the telescope, and kept it in a great running condition :).
However, if nothing is done soon, Hubble is doomed :(. A mission, due to be in February 2005, was scrapped after the Columbia disaster. Limping on failing equipments, Hubble might finally undergo a deorbit, and be crashed in the Pacific Ocean in a fireball. Perhaps a fitting end to a fantastic equipment, that has photographed many a fireballs in space, and has expanded our understanding of the cosmos to new heights as never before.
Happy Birthday, Hubble. I wish you lived longer :(.
Happy Birthday, Dear Hubble!
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15 Comments:
agree with ur post:)
Now, quickly, hide!
Assuming whoever owns it has decided it isn't economic (for them) to maintain it, isn't there anyone else who would be prepared to "take it off their hands" for a nominal fee (or even free) and maintain it from now on?
Do you know of any petitions to keep it running? Or is this all sentimental hogwash (i.e. will the James Webb Space Telescope be so much better we'll all wonder what the fuss was about Hubble?).
Sorry sray, I'm all questions today ;-)
Hubble is owned by NASA, and therefore by the US Government. It would be nice if someone else could take Hubble and maintain it, but it will not happen for many reasons:
a) The expertise for maintaining Hubble lie withing NASA, Kennedy Space Center, and UCLA. These groups are also working on newer telescopes, and therefore are not available for any third-party assignments.
b) It requires enormous amounts of money. In a way, pure scientific research is funded by the public, as it takes several years/decades for the benefits to start showing up.
c) Intellectual secrets involved in design and maintenance of Hubble would make it impossible for NASA to part with its internal designs.
Petitions: I know of this one, but seriously, signing petitions never does much good :-(. Perhaps people need to call up their congressmen and women.
James Webb Space Telescope will be far better. But it wont launch (as per current schedule) till 2011. Also, one can't really trust the US congress and NASA... who knows when the plug to that will be pulled?
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