The Hubble Telescope is a large observatory, which is hovering in space, that was first launched in 1990. The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) was named after the astronomer Edwin P. Hubble and has been sending Earth photos of the Universe and beyond for seventeen years. It was actually Lyman Spitzer Jr. who first had the concept of an observatory that was above Earth's atmosphere, so that it wouldn't interfere with the data, which would assist scientists in the study of all things space. The HST rotates Earth every 97 minutes and is approximately 360 miles above the planet's surface.
The HST is made up of two mirrors, the primary which is about 7 feet in diameter, and the secondary mirror, which is 1 foot in diameter. When the aperture door of the HTS opens, the light travels down the main baffle, or the part which eliminates stray light, and hits the primary mirror. The primary mirror is concave and converges the light through a second baffle onto the secondary mirror. As the light hits the secondary mirror, it reflects it back towards the primary mirror through a central baffle which then reaches a focal plan (through a hole in the primary mirror) where the science instruments examine the light. The HST also has a Pointing Control system which ensures the telescope stays locked onto a target and stays straight. The HST also uses sensors in order to determine it's own position, so that it can stay in place, while in orbit, and be moved to a new location as needed. The HST's location is sent to components called actuators which physically adjust the Hubble's position and orientation in order for it to view the necessary astral bodies.
There have been four separate missions to the Hubble Telescope which provided general maintenance, repair, and upgrades. The first took place in 1993, the second in 1997, the third in 1999 and the fourth in 2002. Each mission provided the Hubble with new scientific advances which allowed NASA to gather more accurate information and expand their original view reach.
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