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About
ten years ago, 370 miles above the Earth …
HUBBLE
SPACE TELESCOPE!
 
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Hubble
Fun Facts!
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Selected
by the sciLINKS program, a service of National Science Teachers
Association. Copyright 2001.
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 NASA,
the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, sent a brave seven-member
crew about 370 miles (595.33 Kilometers)
above Earth to
tune-up the Hubble Space Telescope. The astronauts replaced equipment
to keep Hubble healthy through the rest of its 20-year mission.
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A
faster main computer and
six new gyroscopes are some of the things that will now make Hubble
stronger and better. The gyros help Hubble point at stars and other
heavenly objects. To do its scientific work, the telescope needs three
of its six gyros working at any time. Broken wires inside four had
left Hubble with only two usable gyros and no back-ups.
Because Hubble could not easily turn around
to point at what it wants to see, it was placed in safe
hold in November 13, 1999 until the gyros were replaced on December
22, 1999.
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The
improved Hubble Space Telescope will continue to explore the mysteries
of the Universe as it searches for black holes, nebulae, galaxies,
stars and planets around other suns!
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