WIKIARCHIVES.SPACE

In the Vertical Processing Facility, the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) has been installed in the payload canister and will ride atop the associated payload transporter for a 10-mile trip to Pad B on Launch Complex 39. The telescope is contained within a protective cocoon which is a double bag sanitary liner. This provides added cleanliness and protection and has been on HST since its arrival at KSC in October 1989. It was removed immediately prior to installation of the telescope into the payload bay of the Space Shuttle Discovery. With HST, astronomers will be able to view 97 percent of the known universe, and will be able to get pictures unlimited and undistorted by the Earth's atmosphere. Compared with earth-based observatories, the HST will be able to view celestial objects that are 50 times fainter, provide images that are 10 times sharper, and see objects that are seven times farther away.