HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE "HST"

The Hubble Space Telescope was launched by the Space Shuttle in April 1990. This is not an exploration probe moving away from the Earth vicinity, but it is an orbiting telescope that overcomes the Earth's atmosphere and distinguishes details on the surface of planets. Images sent by Hubble are of excellent quality, especially since it was repaired in 1993 by astronauts from the space shuttle.

The Hubble telescope is managed from the Space Science Institute in Baltimore (USA) as an automatic telescope. It was repaired again in 1999 (change of gyroscopes), 2002 and 2009 to remain operational during about 30 years. After that, it will be destroyed by entering the terrestrial atmosphere between 2030 and 2040.

Click here to see a picture taken by the Space Telescope

Click here for an animation  of the Hubble Space Telescope into orbit.