What is the Hubble Space Telescope

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What is the Hubble Space Telescope?
The Hubble Space Telescope is a telescope set in
orbit about 610-km above the Earth. It was
launched on April 12, 1990, by the space shuttle,
Discovery.The telescope had an expected 15-year
life that would be monitored by NASA. This
telescope is capable of taking extremely sharp
images of our galaxy, and galaxies beyond. This
telescope has become one of the most important in
the history of astronomy.
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It is operated in cooperation with the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and
the European Space Agency (ESA), and is
controlled from NASAs Goddard Space Flight
Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, by way of radio
signals.
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• The Hubble Space Telescope has many components,
  but there are six main components that aid in
  seeing deep into space. These components are
• Wild Field/Planetary Camera 2 (WF/PC2)- the
  telescopes chief instrument
• Faint-Object Camera (FOC)- this camera has a
  small field of view
• Faint-Object Spectrograph- this component
  measures wavelengths of dim objects at
  ultraviolet and optical wavelengths
• Goddard High-Resolution Spectrograph- only
  measures ultraviolet wavelengths

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The Research Being Done
The Hubble Space Telescope is allowing
scientists to see deeper into space then was ever
possible before. They can examine faraway
galaxies and determine how far away they are by
the brightness of the light emitted by them.
Scientists used the telescope to locate what
looks like a planet, not far outside of our solar
system. This planet is thought to have been
ejected far away from its parental stars.
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The Faulty Lens
Not long after the Hubble Space Telescope was
launched, a flaw was discovered in the lens.
Images were less clear when they were received at
NASA. Astronauts from the space shuttle,
Endeavour, were sent up to repair the faulty lens
in 1993. It was necessary to install an optical
device, much like a contact, that would correct
the error. Even though the lens was only about 2
micrometers in size, it took five days for the
installment of the new component. During this
mission, the astronauts added several other
components, as well as in 1997, 1999, and 2002.
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Costs
The repairs of the Hubble Space Telescope and
the new equipment installed cost almost 70
million-dollars. In total, the telescope cost 15
billion-dollars to make, and since its launch in
1990, it has cost U.S. taxpayers more than 25
billion-dollars. It has been 15 years since the
launch of the Hubble Space Telescope. 15 years
was the expected life of the telescope, and it is
now under review whether or not to refinance the
project.
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Is it Worth Keeping?

• I think the results of the research and repair
  work justify the cost because the research has
  helped scientists see farther into the universe
  than was ever before possible. In order for them
  to understand the universe, they needed a clear
  view, therefore the repair of the telescope was
  needed. This telescope has helped us evaluate
  what goes on in the universe, and it can help us
  figure out what could happen in the future.

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Pictures Taken by the Hubble Telescope
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The End