Aerospace: Nasa Made the Hubble Telescope to Be Remade: Spacewalk Repairs and Upgrades Were Always Part of The Plan

Abstract

WHEN NASA DECIDED in the 1970s that the Hubble Space Telescope should be serviceable in space, the engineering challenges must have seemed nearly insurmountable. How could a machine that complex and delicate be repaired by astronauts wearing 130-kilogram suits with thick gloves? ¶ In the end, spacewalkers not only fixed the telescope, they regularly remade it. ¶ That was possible because Hubble is toroidal-its major systems laid out in wedge-shaped equipment bays that astronauts could open from the outside. A series of maintenance workstations on Hubble's outer surface ensured astronauts could have ready access to crucial telescope parts. ¶ On five space-shuttle servicing missions between 1993 and 2009, 16 spacewalkers replaced every major component except the telescope's mirrors and outer skin. They increased its electrical supply by 20 percent. And they tripled its ability to concentrate and sense light, job No.1 of any telescope. ¶ The orbital observatory was built to last 15 years in space. But with updates, it has operated for more than 30-a history of reinvention to make any engineering team proud. “Twice the lifetime,” says astronaut Kathryn Sullivan, who flew on Hubble's 1990 launch mission. “Just try finding something else that has improved with age in space. I dare you.”