The Hubble Telescope Turns 25
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@scottalanmiller said:
Those are cool. It is unbelievable that the Hubble is 25 now! It is also unbelievable that after a quarter century it is still our best telescope. That is a really long time.
It boils down to money, right? No one is spending on these types of things currently?
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@Dashrender said:
It boils down to money, right? No one is spending on these types of things currently?
Or for the past quarter century. That's the amazing part. Technology has really slowed. There was a time where we had to put up a new satellite every six months because of the constantly changing technologies in them. Now we can run the same one for twenty five years and still have it be the state of the art. Not only is it still the best thing ever, it is still running like a champ. I'm not aware of any hardware or software issues with it. Think about how old the computing hardware is in that thing!
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I thought it has had several upgrades over the years?
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@Dashrender said:
I thought it has had several upgrades over the years?
Firmware maybe. Not aware of the hardware being changed out. Perhaps it has been. I suppose that that would be cost effective given the immense cost of the optics on the thing.
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If the Hubble has been updated, it was long ago. Since 2003 there has been no legal means of reaching the Hubble via the space shuttles as the US has a moratorium on shuttle flights going anywhere except for the ISS for safety reasons. So for at least the last twelve years, the Hubble has been floating untouched out there. It did get some optical servicing early on but I am unsure if the electronics have been updated.
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Why do you think that is? Is it because there haven't been any worth while advancements worth the expense to do hardware updates or launch a new satellite?
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@Dashrender said:
Why do you think that is? Is it because there haven't been any worth while advancements worth the expense to do hardware updates or launch a new satellite?
The moratorium is because of the risk to human life after two shuttle disasters. Once the Columbia failed on re-entry, one of the precautions taken was that all shuttles must go to the ISS for inspection before returning to Earth.
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Oh, I meant why they haven't upgraded/updated the Hubble, not why the shuttle had to go to the ISS.
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@Dashrender said:
Oh, I meant why they haven't upgraded/updated the Hubble, not why the shuttle had to go to the ISS.
Because the shuttle is needed for those upgrades and the shuttle goes only to the ISS, not to the Hubble, now.
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I feel old now - I remember the launch
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@scottalanmiller said:
Because the shuttle is needed for those upgrades and the shuttle goes only to the ISS, not to the Hubble, now.
What shuttle? You mean those museum pieces?
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@JaredBusch said:
@scottalanmiller said:
Because the shuttle is needed for those upgrades and the shuttle goes only to the ISS, not to the Hubble, now.
What shuttle? You mean those museum pieces?
Yup, those, the only things that NASA has.
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So much beauty in the universe, thinking about it too much... it's dusty in here alright?!
