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News & ArtsMonday, May 11, 2009
Science Good Night, Sweet Space Telescope
Posted by Paul Constant on Mon, May 11, 2009 at 2:32 PM
The Hubble Space Telescope (which I just mistyped as the "Huggle Space Telescope") has officially sent its last photo to Earth. We've sent some astronauts up to fix it, though, which is good news: After that walking-on-the-moon thing, I think the Hubble was the best thing NASA's ever done.
1
Frankly, I think the GPS system is the best thing NASA's ever done. But I suppose everybody's entitled to their own opinion.
2
Of course what YOU think was NASA's best thing after walking on the moon is really interesting to everyone.
Self-absorbed.
Self-absorbed.
5
I think the Hubble has done more to change peoples reilgious and philosophical views than anything.
6
@3 Almost all the data from Hubble is publicly available, though there is a one year period in many cases where only the main scientist who requested the data has access.
The problem is that not all have been processed to look all pretty and are still raw.
The problem is that not all have been processed to look all pretty and are still raw.
9
I'd have to go with Spirit and Opportunity. They've survived well over 20 times their life expectancy and are still kicking ass on Mars. They're tough, they're plucky.
10
don't forget that west seattle high school and UW alum greg johnson is piloting this mission. maybe slog mentioned that already.
i think the reason a lot of people (including myself) love the hubble project is because it represents pure science as opposed to applied science. sort of a false dichotomy but it's nice to know we're still looking just for the sake of looking.
i think the reason a lot of people (including myself) love the hubble project is because it represents pure science as opposed to applied science. sort of a false dichotomy but it's nice to know we're still looking just for the sake of looking.
11
Arghhhhh it's HUGGLE! And even you can get in there, you'll never get out again.
<3 Huggle from Labyrinth
<3 Huggle from Labyrinth
13
@9 beat me to it. Those things are like martian energizer bunnies.
http://www.theonion.com/content/node/543…
http://www.theonion.com/content/node/543…
14
wait... if this mission will extend hubble's misison to 2014... and we're getting the last photo now... WTF? Something's wrong with the narrative.
15
It's drastically premature, not to mention rather misleading, to state Hubble has sent it's LAST photograph, since the entire mission objective for STS-125 is to repair & replace components that have worn out, or been damaged, in order to extend its functional lifetime for perhaps as long as a decade.
While the Wide Field Planetary Camera (WFPC 2) will be decommissioned and removed, it will be replaced by a newer version (WFPC 3), which actually has a higher resolution and a wider field-of-view than its predecessor. Additionally, EVA's will be performed to repair damaged components for both the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) and the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS), which are currently non-functional.
If these repairs are successful, Hubble will have all of its optics and imaging systems restored to full functionality, and in many ways will be in BETTER shape than it was when launched over 18 years ago.
All of which means we can expect to see lots MORE beautiful images from Hubble over the next 5 - 10 years.
And while we're giving credit where credit is due, let's not forget lonely little Voyager 1, aged 31 1/2, now some 10 billion miles away - the farthest man-made object from earth - plowing through the Kuiper Belt at 37,000 mph on its way toward interstellar space, and still transmitting data back home.
While the Wide Field Planetary Camera (WFPC 2) will be decommissioned and removed, it will be replaced by a newer version (WFPC 3), which actually has a higher resolution and a wider field-of-view than its predecessor. Additionally, EVA's will be performed to repair damaged components for both the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) and the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS), which are currently non-functional.
If these repairs are successful, Hubble will have all of its optics and imaging systems restored to full functionality, and in many ways will be in BETTER shape than it was when launched over 18 years ago.
All of which means we can expect to see lots MORE beautiful images from Hubble over the next 5 - 10 years.
And while we're giving credit where credit is due, let's not forget lonely little Voyager 1, aged 31 1/2, now some 10 billion miles away - the farthest man-made object from earth - plowing through the Kuiper Belt at 37,000 mph on its way toward interstellar space, and still transmitting data back home.
16
all the repair missions are broadcast live on www.nasa.gov. they're typically slow going, but the scenery rocks!
17
GPS is weak. First there was SA, and even now it's still only accurate to a few meters.
Now the guys who found a way to hack GPS and produce milimeter accuracy with it - THAT'S impressive.
Now the guys who found a way to hack GPS and produce milimeter accuracy with it - THAT'S impressive.
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