glenc
10-01-2008, 01:27 AM
Nasa has announced details of a challenging mission to "rescue" the Hubble Space Telescope. Without the mission, the multi-billion dollar orbiting observatory is likely to fail in 2010 or 2011.
The upgrade will provide a massive boost to Hubble's capabilities, giving it greater sensitivity and a larger field of view.
The mission, by space shuttle Atlantis, will make Hubble 90 times more powerful than its original version.
It could also extend the telescope's lifetime by more than a decade.
The mission was outlined at a meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Austin, Texas.
"Hubble will be able to work productively out into the middle, if not the end of the next decade instead of its current projected demise due to wear and tear," Dr Alan Stern, associate administrator for science at Nasa, told the BBC News website.
More at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7164139.stm
The upgrade will provide a massive boost to Hubble's capabilities, giving it greater sensitivity and a larger field of view.
The mission, by space shuttle Atlantis, will make Hubble 90 times more powerful than its original version.
It could also extend the telescope's lifetime by more than a decade.
The mission was outlined at a meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Austin, Texas.
"Hubble will be able to work productively out into the middle, if not the end of the next decade instead of its current projected demise due to wear and tear," Dr Alan Stern, associate administrator for science at Nasa, told the BBC News website.
More at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7164139.stm