14 DAY TRIAL // Officials at the American space agency are currently getting ready to properly celebrate the coming of age of the Hubble Space Telescope, the most renowned observatory in the world. On April 24, the satellite will turn 21 years old in Earth's orbit.
The instrument launched aboard the space shuttle Discovery, during the STS-31 mission. Take-off took place from the NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC), in Florida, at 8:33:51 am EDT on April 4, 1990.
According to its specifications sheet, Hubble can conduct investigation in near-infrared, optical and ultraviolet wavelengths, from its home in low-Earth orbit. It also carries five primary science instruments, which produced most of the image the observatory became famous for.
Now, just three days before it becomes “legal in all states,” scientists operating the telescope decided to point it at a cosmic structure that looks amazing on camera. The new view of the interacting galaxy system called Arp 273 is a birthday present that Hubble is making to all of its fans.
“For 21 years, Hubble has profoundly changed our view of the Universe, allowing us to see deep into the past while opening our eyes to the majesty and wonders around us,” Charles Bolden, the NASA Administrator, says in a statement.
“I was privileged to pilot space shuttle Discovery as it deployed Hubble. After all this time, new Hubble images still inspire awe and are a testament to the extraordinary work of the many people behind the world's most famous observatory,” he adds.
The current Administrator flew a total of four shuttle missions during his astronaut career, including STS-60, which was the first mission of the US/Russian joint Shuttle-Mir Program.
“Hubble is America's gift to the world. Its jaw-dropping images have rewritten the textbooks and inspired generations of schoolchildren to study math and science,” adds Senator Barbara Mikulski, from Maryland.
“It has been documenting the history of our Universe for 21 years. Thanks to the daring of our brave astronauts, a successful servicing mission in 2009 gave Hubble new life. I look forward to Hubble's amazing images and inspiring discoveries for years to come,” she adds.
The space shuttle Atlantis carried out the final repair flight for Hubble, during STS-125. The mission, which took place in May 2009, saw the installation of the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3), and the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) instruments.
Astronauts also repaired the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) and the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) instruments, and replaced damaged Fine Guidance Sensor (FGS) that was barely able to keep the telescope pointing in the right direction.
At this point, Hubble is scheduled to continue its operations for any period ranging from 2 to 9 years.