The @Hubble Space Telescope, also called the @HST, is a telescopic observatory that orbits 600 kilometers above the @Earth. It is the first scientific mission of any kind designed for routine service by astronauts. It is one of the largest and most complex satellites ever built and was deployed April 25, 1990 from the space shuttle @Discovery.
When Hubble was designed in the 1970s, @NASA stated that its main scientific objectives were to determine:
* The constitution, physical characteristics, and dynamics of celestial bodies.
* The nature of processes that occur in the extreme physical conditions existing in and between astronomical objects.
* The history and evolution of the universe.
* Whether the laws of nature are universal in the space-time continuum.
That's a pretty tall order for a relatively small object!
The Hubble Space Telescope is as large as a tractor-trailer (43.5 feet long and 14 feet in diameter) and weighs 12 tons. It looks like nothing more than a five-story tower of stacked silver canisters. But each canister houses important telescope equipment. The telescope has focusing mirrors, computers, imaging instruments, and pointing and control mechanisms.
