HUBBLE Past …future?

NASA’s Great Observatories “an astronomical Mount Rushmore” Spitzer Chandra Compton Hubble

Gains in orbit No atmospheric blurring Wider accessible wavelength range Instrumental stability No clouds/daylight (timing)

Some HST Science highlights Structures of distant galaxies

Some HST Science highlights Structures of distant galaxies Hubble constant from Cepheid variable stars

Some HST Science highlights Structures of distant galaxies Hubble constant from Cepheid variable stars Black holes in (almost all) galactic nuclei

Some HST Science highlights Structures of distant galaxies Hubble constant from Cepheid variable stars Black holes in (almost all) galactic nuclei Protoplanetary material near young stars

Some HST Science highlights Structures of distant galaxies Hubble constant from Cepheid variable stars Black holes in (almost all) galactic nuclei Protoplanetary material near young stars Gravitational lenses

Some HST Science highlights Structures of distant galaxies Hubble constant from Cepheid variable stars Black holes in (almost all) galactic nuclei Protoplanetary material near young stars Gravitational lenses Intergalactic gas and its history Stuff scattered all the way through the textbooks

Instrument history 1990: FGS HSP FOS GHRS FOC WF/PC 1993: FGS CoSTAR FOS GHRS FOC WFPC2 1997: FGS CoSTAR NICMOS STIS FOC WFPC2 2002: FGS CoSTAR NICMOS STIS ACS WFPC2 200? COS, WFC3

Hubble status, Sept Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph dead (only high-res/small-region spectrometer) 3 of 6 gyros (RSUs) functional (3 needed for full tracking, some observations with 2) Battery capacity decreasing (will be useless circa 2010) Estimated 50% failure time on above: 2007 Instrument/transmitter power cycling now reduced by rescheduling/eliminating parallel imaging

Options Shuttle SM4 (O’Keefe ruled out, CAIB concerns) Robotic mission (new tech, some changeouts very risky) Replace the whole thing (HOP proposal to refly COS/WFC3)

Shuttle? “Safe haven” would mean standby orbiter Limited remaining flights earmarked to ISS Need for independent orbital inspection Victim of the Vision? Orbital mechanics: 28.5-degree inclination, getting heaviest payloads highest from Cape Canaveral, restricts options now

Servicing non-options Prohibitive energy requirements to co-orbit with ISS in reach of astronauts 28-degree orbit out of reach from Baikonur (ITAR restrictions aside) Ion thrusters would take the estimated telescope lifetime for orbit change ~2015 estimated deorbit without boosting

Robotics/teleoperation? Canadian ISS arm not required yet – “spare” Some tasks straightforward, actually robotic plus teleoperations mission Double big/small arm Robot docking/deorbit committed already Tests make this look possible 2-piece spacecraft, Delta/Atlas launch 2007 a challenge; budget is ballooning Political aspects re pinning blame

Solar array connectors

Replace capabilities? Technology since 1980: lots cheaper. Thin flexible mirrors, lightweight structures, stabilize mirrors rather than structure… Unique access to optical/UV range Plan on table to fly 2.4m mirror with existing HST instruments (Hubble Origins Probe or HOP); could be as low as $250M. Need to decide who gets the instruments!

Next up: JWST

James Webb Space Telescope Launch 2011, on Ariane V, to L2 region 6.5m deployable primary microns (far red to mid-IR) Key problems: formation of galaxies, first stars, maybe planets Spacecraft weight/mirror area ratio roughly that of Hubble mirror alone!

And at other wavelengths… Chandra and its complement XMM-Newton

Across the spectrum - now FarIR MidIR nearIR opt UV farUV X-ray gamma Spitzer Hubble Chandra GALEX FUSE INTEGRAL WMAP

Multispectral Greatest Hits Intergalactic gas Starburst galaxies High-redshift galaxies Evaporating planets Protoplanetary disks Growth of black holes Complexity of stardeath Gamma-ray bursts Supernova chemistry Quasar jets Stripped galaxies Pregalactic lumps Galaxy history Relativistic jets

A panchromatic view - spiral galaxy M81 ROSAT GALEX Kitt Peak Spitzer VLA

Across the spectrum - soon FarIR MidIR nearIR opt UV farUV X-ray gamma Spitzer Hubble? Chandra and XMM GALEX? FUSE? INTEGRAL Planck Herschel Swift SIM TPF? JWST

A new Universe to explore The full electromagnetic spectrum Open international competition for observations Public data archives (without mailing tapes!) The beginnings of the Virtual Observatory But astronomers think about facilities differently from NASA and ESA…