Space telescopes·NASA / ESA

Hubble

ActiveLaunched in 1990·LEO — 547 km

For 35 years, Hubble has revolutionized our understanding of the universe. Its images of nebulae and galaxies rank among the most iconic in history.

Main objectives

Image the cosmos in visible and ultraviolet light with unmatched resolution from orbit.
Measure the expansion of the universe and its cosmological age.
Serve as a reference for ground-based and orbital telescopes.

Did you know?

It has contributed to more than 19,000 published scientific papers. Operated from the ground in Maryland, it remains the most-cited telescope in astronomy.

Timeline

Apr 24, 1990

Launch

Carried aboard the shuttle Discovery (mission STS-31).

Dec 04, 1993

Servicing mission 1

Correction of the optical aberration with COSTAR.

Dec 01, 1995

Hubble Deep Field

10 days of exposure on 1/24 millionth of the sky.

May 11, 2009

Servicing mission 5

Final servicing mission, added WFC3 and COS.

Instruments

[04]

WFC3

Wide Field Camera 3 — wide-field visible/UV/IR imaging.

ACS

Advanced Camera for Surveys — high-resolution imaging.

STIS

Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph.

COS

Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (UV).

Specifications

Mass11,110 kg

OrbitLEO 547 km, period 95 min

Power2.8 kW

Primary mirror2.4 m

Discoveries

[06]

Mission milestones

[03]

Official sources

HubbleSite↗ESA Hubble↗