World Largest space telescope

Largest space telescope The $2.1-billion (£1.4-billion) NASA Edwin P. Hubble Space Telescope weighs 11 tonnes (24,250 lb) and is 13.1 m (43 ft) in overall length, with a 240-cm (94.8-in) reflector. It was was launched into space, at an altitude of 613 km (381 miles), by the US space shuttle Discovery on 24 April 1990.  

The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is a space telescope that was carried into orbit by a space shuttle in 1990. Although not the first space telescope, Hubble is one of the largest and most versatile, and is well-known as both a vital research tool and a public relations boon for astronomy. The HST was built by the United States space agency NASA, with contributions from the European Space Agency, and is operated by the Space Telescope Science Institute. It is named after the astronomer Edwin Hubble. The HST is one of NASA's Great Observatories, along with the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory, the Chandra X-ray Observatory, and theSpitzer Space Telescope.

Organization	NASA / ESA / STScI
Launch date	April 24, 1990, 8:33:51 am EDT
Launch vehicle	Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-31)
Mission length	20 years, 8 months, and 4 days elapsed
Deorbited	due ~2013–2021
Mass	11,110 kg (24,500 lb)
Type of orbit	Near-circular low Earth orbit
Orbit height	559 km (347 mi)
Orbit period	96–97 minutes (14-15 periods per day)
Orbit velocity	7,500 m/s (25,000 ft/s)
Acceleration due to gravity	8.169 m/s2 (26.80 ft/s2)
Location	Low Earth orbit
Telescope style	Ritchey-Chrétien reflector
Wavelength	Optical, ultraviolet, near-infrared
Diameter	2.4 m (7 ft 10 in)
Collecting area	4.5 m2 (48 sq ft)
Focal length	57.6 m (189 ft)
Instruments
NICMOS	infrared camera/spectrometer
ACS	optical survey camera (partially failed)
WFC3	wide field optical camera
COS	ultraviolet spectrograph
STIS	optical spectrometer/camera
FGS	three fine guidance sensors
Website	hubble.nasa.gov hubblesite.org www.spacetelescope.org