Fast Facts about the Hubble Space Telescope
Telescope Type
Ritchie-Chrétien Cassegrain design
Mirror Diameter
Primary Mirror Diameter: 94.5 inches (2.4 meters)
Secondary Mirror Diameter: 12 inches (0.3 meters)
Mirror Weight
Primary Mirror Weight: 1,825 pounds
Secondary Mirror Weight: 27.4 pounds
Mirror Mass
Primary Mirror Mass: 828 kilograms
Secondary Mirror Mass: 12.3 kilograms
Mirror Material
Glass with aluminum coating
Observatory Weight
Approximately 24,500 pounds at launch
Approximately 27,000 pounds as of Servicing
Mission 4
Observatory Mass
Approximately 11,100 kilograms at launch
Approximately 12,000 kilograms as of
Servicing Mission 4
Launched
April 24, 1990
Deployed
April 25, 1990
First Image – May 20, 1990: Star Cluster NGC 3532
Serviced
Servicing Mission 1: December 1993
Servicing Mission 2: February 1997
Servicing Mission 3A: December 1999
Servicing Mission 3B: March 2002
Servicing Mission 4: May 2009
Learn more about Hubble's Servicing Missions.
Launch Vehicle
Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-31)
Launch Site
Kennedy Space Center, Florida
Location
Orbiting 340 miles (540 kilometers) above the Earth
Orbital Period
Approximately 95 minutes to complete one orbit around Earth
Speed
About 17,000 mph (27,300 kph)
Solar Array Power
Energy Source: The Sun
Mechanism: Two 25-foot solar panels
Power generation (in sunlight): ~5,500 watts
Power usage (average): ~2,100 watts
Batteries: 6 nickel-hydrogen
Storage Capacity: Equal to about 22 average car batteries
Wavelength Coverage
Sensitivity to Light: Ultraviolet through Infrared (115–1700 nanometers)
Instruments
Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3)
Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS)
Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS)
Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS)
Fine Guidance Sensors (FGS)