3 min read

A Look at the Numbers as NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope Enters its 25th Year

hubble-telescope.jpg
The Hubble Telescope as seen from NASA Space Shuttle STS-125 in May 2009. The Hubble Space Telescope was reborn with Servicing Mission 4 (SM4), the fifth and final servicing of the orbiting observatory.
NASA

On April 24, 1990, the space shuttle Discovery lifted off from Earth with the Hubble Space Telescope nestled securely in its bay. The following day, Hubble was released into space, ready to peer into the vast unknown of space.

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope recently marked its 24th year in space and to celebrate its 25th year, NASA is taking a look at some of the amazing statistics generated by the world-famous telescope.

Hubble has reinvigorated and reshaped our perception of space and uncovered a universe where almost anything seems possible within the laws of physics. Hubble has revealed properties of space and time that for most of human history were only probed in the imaginations of scientists and philosophers alike. Today, Hubble continues to provide views of cosmic wonders never before seen and is at the forefront of many new discoveries.

Shortly after Hubble was deployed in 1990, the observatory's primary mirror was discovered to have a flaw that affected the clarity of the telescope's early images. Astronauts repaired Hubble in December 1993. Including that trip, there have been five astronaut servicing missions to Hubble. The first servicing mission occurred Dec. 2-13, 1993. Subsequent servicing missions occurred on Feb. 11-21, 1997; Dec.19-27, 1999; March 1-12, 2002; and May 11-24, 2009.

Here are some statistics on the Hubble as of its 24th anniversary on April 24, 2014:

  • Hubble captures pictures of stars, planets and galaxies from its orbit around Earth while moving at 17,500 mph.
  • Hubble has made more the 1 million observations since its mission began in 1990.
  • Hubble has observed 38,000 celestial targets.
  • Hubble has orbited Earth more than 3 billion miles along a circular low-Earth orbit of about 350 miles altitude
  • As of Hubble's 24th anniversary in April 2014, Hubble's observations have taken up more than 100 terabytes of data.
  • Hubble currently generates 844 gigabytes of data per month.
  • About 4,000 astronomers from all over the world have used the telescope to probe the universe.
  • Astronomers using Hubble data have published more than 11,000 scientific papers, making it one of the most productive scientific instruments ever built.
  • Hubble weighs 24,500 pounds -- as much as two full-grown elephants.
  • Hubble's primary mirror is 2.4 meters (7 feet, 10.5 inches) across.
  • Hubble is 13.3 meters (43.5 feet) long -- the length of a large school bus.

The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the telescope. The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore conducts Hubble science operations. STScI is operated for NASA by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy Inc., in Washington.

For images and more information about Hubble, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/hubble

Rob Gutro
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

Share

Details

Last Updated
Nov 03, 2023
Editor
NASA Hubble Mission Team
Contact
NASA Hubble Mission Team

Related Terms

Explore More

A close-up of a spiral galaxy, seen face-on. Its center is a bright white point, surrounded by a large yellowish oval with thin lines of dust swirling in it. From the sides of the oval emerge two bright spiral arms which wind through the round disk of the galaxy, filled with shining pink spots where stars are forming and more dark reddish dust. Many stars are visible in the foreground, over and around the galaxy.
2 min read

Hubble Images a Grand Spiral

Article2 days ago
4 min read

NASA Successfully Integrates Roman Mission’s Telescope, Instruments

NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope team has successfully integrated the mission’s telescope and two instruments onto the instrument carrier, marking the completion of the Roman payload. Now the team at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, will begin joining the payload to the spacecraft. “We’re in the middle of an exciting stage […]

Article3 days ago
Light and dark blue splotches cover Earth as a yellow band streaks across the Pacific Ocean between Central America and Indonesia.
4 min read

NASA Study: Crops, Forests Responding to Changing Rainfall Patterns

Earth’s rainy days are changing: They’re becoming less frequent, but more intense. Vegetation is responding.

Article4 days ago
Keep Exploring

Discover More Topics From NASA

James Webb Space Telescope

The image is divided horizontally by an undulating line between a cloudscape forming a nebula along the bottom portion and a comparatively clear upper portion. Speckled across both portions is a starfield, showing innumerable stars of many sizes. The smallest of these are small, distant, and faint points of light. The largest of these appear larger, closer, brighter, and more fully resolved with 8-point diffraction spikes. The upper portion of the image is blueish, and has wispy translucent cloud-like streaks rising from the nebula below. The orangish cloudy formation in the bottom half varies in density and ranges from translucent to opaque. The stars vary in color, the majority of which have a blue or orange hue. The cloud-like structure of the nebula contains ridges, peaks, and valleys – an appearance very similar to a mountain range. Three long diffraction spikes from the top right edge of the image suggest the presence of a large star just out of view.

Perseverance Rover

Parker Solar Probe

Juno