Fact Sheets

Fact sheets provide a summary of information and statistics in a standard format on a particular Hubble topic of choice. The range from topics that include spacecraft hardware and instruments, to operations, to servicing missions.

Photograph of a group of engineers sitting in front of their computers inside of the "Space Telescope Operations Control Center." This image was taken during Hubble's Servicing Mission 4, which is on the screen in the front of the room.

Observatory and Operations

Download these PDFs to learn more about the Hubble Space Telescope mission and its operations.

Hubble Space Telescope in orbit

Hubble Overview

Hubble is a complex machine. Find out how it works.

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Astronaut Mike Massimino inside one of Hubble's instrument bays (left of center). Instrument Specialists, Michael Good (center) is standing on the Manipulator Foot Restraint, which is connected to the Shuttle Remote Manipulator System/Canadarm Latching End Effector. The Canadarm is white and extends from the upper right corner to the bottom center.

Gyroscopes

Hubble’s precise gyroscopes help point the telescope.

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Image of the VEST (The Vehicle Electrical System Test facility) A Large silver piece of equipment with some of the doors open. Inside those doors are dozens of wires and engineering equipment.

High-Fidelity Simulator

Engineers safely test and troubleshoot new procedures on a Hubble simulator at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center

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Photograph of a group of engineers sitting in front of their computers inside of the "Space Telescope Operations Control Center." This image was taken during Hubble's Servicing Mission 4, which is on the screen in the front of the room.

Mission Operations

It takes a team of people on Earth to keep a space telescope in action.

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Servicing Mission

Download these PDFs to learn more about the Hubble Space Telescope servicing missions.

Two spacewalking astronauts, one standing attached to the space shuttle's robotic arm, work on the Hubble Space Telescope in the shuttle's cargo bay.

Servicing Missions

Astronauts visited Hubble five times to upgrade and repair the telescope.

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Image showing astronaut holding the Pistol Grip Tool, which looks like an electric screwdriver. The astronaut's face is visible through his visor, he is smiling. He stands next to a large gold box with a bit of the Shuttle visible behind him.

Tools

Innovative new tools helped astronauts tackle Hubble’s servicing missions.

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Instruments

Download these PDFs to learn more about Hubble's instruments.

astronauts install ACS on Hubble

Advanced Camera for Surveys

ACS can survey large areas of the sky at multiple wavelengths, observing objects from our solar system to the distant universe.

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COS

Cosmic Origins Spectrograph

COS studies features imprinted in ultraviolet light to explore how galaxies, stars, and planets formed and evolved.

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Astronaut Joseph Tanner and Hubble

Fine Guidance Sensors

FGSs help point Hubble and can be used to precisely measure distances between objects.

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Hubble observations of M84 by WFPC2 (left) and STIS instruments

Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph

STIS studies features found in various wavelengths of light to examine objects such as black holes, stars and galaxies.

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Astronaut Andrew Feustel with Hubble and WFC3

Wide Field Camera 3

WFC3 spans ultraviolet, visible and near-infrared light to study the cosmos, ranging from distant galaxies to objects within our solar system.

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Information

Media Resources

Need to talk to our communication's team? Need b-roll for the documentary your making? This page helps you find the Hubble information you need.

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Image taken of the 1990 deployment of the Hubble Space Telescope. Hubble, bright and silver, reflects the Earth below, on either side of Hubble there are two golden solar arrays. At the bottom of the picture you can see the body of the Space Shuttle Discovery as well as the grapple arm letting go of Hubble.
Space Shuttle Discovery’s robotic arm deploys Hubble on April 25, 1990.
NASA

More Things Hubble

nearly spherical gathering of white stars at center top. Blue gas cloud extends from top left to center bottom

Hubble Science Highlights

Hubble’s most notable scientific discoveries reflect the broad range of research and the breakthroughs it has achieved.

Upper left: "Hubble Focus" opening of the telescope is the "O" Center: bright-white star, Center Bottom: Orange-red planet with cloud bands, Center: small, bright-white star and very small red-orange dwarf star

Hubble E-books

Investigate the mysteries of the universe with Hubble. Learn Hubble's history. E-books dive deeper into Hubble discoveries and more.

An astronaut stands in front of a background of a nebula against a deep field of galaxies. The words "Name That Nebula" hovers above.

Hubble Online Activities

Find your Hubble birthday image, take interactive tours, play games, and more.

Two astronauts service Hubble, one standing in the space shuttle cargo bay and one attached to a robotic arm, with the Earth in the background in the upper half of the picture.

Hubble Servicing Missions

Hubble’s serviceable design and modular components enabled upgrades that took advantage of advancements in technology. Astronauts used this capability to service Hubble five times.

Hubble Nebula - Crab Nebula

Explore the Night Sky

Your backyard telescope and binoculars may not have the capabilities of Hubble, but you can still see amazing objects. Compare what you see with the images Hubble has taken.

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A spiral galaxy seen nearly face-on. The disk holds many tightly wound spiral arms. They contain small strands of reddish dust, near the center. On the left side, the disk features glowing patches of star formation. The whole right side, and part of the center, is obscured by a large cloud of dark grey gas which crosses the image.
2 min read

Hubble Spots a Galaxy Hidden in a Dark Cloud

Article6 days ago
Cover image of the Hubble Focus: Dark Universe e-book. Black background with a galaxy cluster that is superimposed with a blue-white haze that indicates the location of dark matter. Top of the image holds the phrase, "Hubble Focus." The "o" in focus is Hubble as we look down the tube of the telescope.
5 min read

NASA’s New Hubble E-Book Spotlights Universe’s Best-Kept Dark Secrets

Article2 weeks ago
A large spiral galaxy with a smaller neighboring galaxy. The spiral galaxy is wide and distorted, with colorful dust. Its companion lies close by, at the end of a spiral arm, to the lower left. A long, faint tail of stars reaches up from the right side of the spiral galaxy to the top of the image. Several small, distant galaxies are visible in the background, along with one bright star in the foreground.
2 min read

Hubble Peers at Pair of Closely Interacting Galaxies

Article2 weeks ago