NASA extends Hubble's science mission

William Atkins
Tuesday, 20 April 2010 23:25

Science - Space

NASA announced on April 18, 2010, that it has extended the science operations contract for the Hubble Space Telescope through the date of April 30, 2013. An extended life for Hubble means more scientific discoveries of the universe await us here on Earth.

According to the media release NASA Extends Hubble Space Telescope Science Operations Contract, 'NASA has exercised an option to extend the period of performance of the contract with the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy for the Hubble Space Telescope Science Operations Center located at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore.'

The extension of the Hubble Space Telescope Science Operations Contract by NASA means that Hubble will be actively in operation at least through April 30, 2013.

The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) has been in orbit about the Earth since 1990, providing us with scientific discoveries of our local solar system and our vast universe for over twenty years.

The space shuttle Discovery carried the HST into space on April 24, 1990, with its NASA mission STS-31, one of the 131 missions so far carried out by the U.S. space agency.

The organization responsible for this science operations contract is the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) for the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Science Operations Center (SOC).

The AURA is located at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STSci) in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A.

Page two concludes.