******************************************************* * A V A R U U S U U T I S I A * * April 3, 1990 * * Toimittanut: Kari A. Kuure * ******************************************************* Press Release No 10 Paris, 27 March 1990 Launch of the Hubble Space Telescope The Hubble Space Telescope (HST), the largest astronomical observatory ever put into space, is presently schedule to be launched into a low Earth orbit aboard the Space Shuttle Dis- covery on 12 April, 1990 from the Kennedy Space Centre in Flori- da. The 11 tonne bus-sized observatory will provide astronomers with their clearest and deepest view of the Universe and significantly advance our understanding of the origin, evolution and structure of our Universe. The spacecraft is named after Edwin P. Hubble, the famous Americ- an Astronomer who proved that galaxies lie beyond our Milky Way and discovered that the Universe is expanding. The HST has a Cassegrain system with a 2.4 m primary mirror. Although this mirror is smaller than that of many Earth based telescopes it will be able to see much deeper in Space and observe celestial objects a lot fainter than those visible from our planet's surface. A joint project between NASA and the European Space Agency, the HST is one of the most ambitious science missions ever under- taken. ESA has developed the Faint Object Camera (FOC), one of the five instruments onboard. The FOC will produce high resolution images of the faintest and most distant celestial object. This means that astronomers will discover object billions of light years away, looking far back into time to the very origins of our Universe. The HST will be pointed extremely accurately at these objects using an attitude control system capable of keeping the telescope on target to within 0.007 arc second, equivalent to identifying a coin in Brussels from London ! Power for the instruments and control system will come from solar panels provided by ESA. The two solar panels with over 48 000 solar cells spread over two 3 x 12.5 m wings will supply a total of 4.5 kW. The spacecraft has a planned lifetime of 15 years. The space shuttle will visit HST approximately every five years to change the solar panels and update the instruments onboard. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt. Maryland will operate the HST after launch while the instruments are being checked and will monitor and control the spacecraft throughout its lifetime. The planning, scheduling and executing of astronomical observa- tions with the Telescope will take place at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore. European users of HST will be assisted by the ESA/ESO European Coordinating Facility located at the European Southern Obser- vatory in Garching, FRG. INFORMATION AND GUEST CENTRES In the three days preceding the launch, a European Guest Centre will be established by the European Space Agency and an industry team involving British Aerospace, Dornier Deutsche Aerospace, Matra Espace and Telefunken System Technik Deutsche Aerospace, as leading European contractors contributing to the HST programme. The Guest Centre will be located on the Ground Floor of the Howard Johnson Plaza Hotel, 2080 North Atlantic Avenue, Cocoa Beach and will feature an information desk, hospitality suite and display area. The centre will be open at the following times: Three days before launch 17h00 - 21h00 Two days before launch 9h00 - 23h00 One day before launch 9h00 - 18h00 Launch day (approx) 2.5 hours after launch - 16h00 Journalist are cordially invited to visit this centre where they will have the opportunity to meet with representatives from European governments, the European Space Agency, science and industry. A press conference will take place two days before the launch ( presently 10 April 1990) at 09h00 at the Kennedy Space Centre (KSC). Furthermore, the press are invited to follow the activities during the Shuttle mission and in particular during the HST Solar Arrays deployment on the day after the launch at the Press Centre of the Goddard Space Flight Centre (GFSC) in Greenbelt, Maryland. Accreditation for both KSC and GSFC will be handled by NASA. In addition to the press facilities in the US, a European press information centre will be organised at ESA's European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) in Noordwijk, The Nether- lands, on both the day of the launch and the deployment. More detailed information concerning this centre will be provided in a few days. Press kits are available on request from the ESA Public Relations Division.