Does the International space station have an optical telescope onboard
2007-10-01 04:18:25 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
Probably, though I am not sure. You do know they also have the Hubble satellite telescope, which would probably be better than anything on the station anyway.
Geoff--I never said the Hubble was on the ISS. I said the Hubble was better than anything on the station.
2007-10-01 04:23:19 · answer #1 · answered by wayfaroutthere 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Not in the sense of a real optical astronomy instrument. The space station has a complex orbital orientation that is designed to optimize its thermal profile, solar power generation and minimize atmospheric drag. A telescope would require to be positioned independently to look at its research targets.
In addition, the ISS is a very "dirty" environment for something that is in space with plenty of perturbations by moving parts and people on the inside, substances gassing out/being discarded etc.
It is really the last place you want to put an optical research telescope on. It actually turns out to be pretty much the last place you want to put any type of space experiment on....
Having said that, it is pretty much the lowest object on the list of man made satellites to produce science. One can probably argue that a single Titan flyby by Cassini or a good week of a single Mars rover have generated more science results than all of the space station research taken together. A truly poor return on investment.
2007-10-01 13:25:46 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Wayfaroutthere, the Hubble Space Telescope is nowhere near the International Space Station. It's in a totally different orbit. The whole reason for the difficulty in repairing the HST is that there's no safe haven for the astronauts to retreat to in case of a problem with the shuttle.
2007-10-01 11:37:35 · answer #3 · answered by GeoffG 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Actually, there is an optical telescope aboard the ISS for the crew members to use. It's a 90mm Questar Mak / Cass.
2007-10-01 15:48:28 · answer #4 · answered by Bobby 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't think they do. There was a project a few years ago to put a small telescope with internet interface on the ISS for amateur and educational use, but they appear to be defunct.
2007-10-01 12:21:08 · answer #5 · answered by injanier 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There are several. For example, the EV detector telescopes and the IV detector telescope are part of the charged particle directional spectrometers (CPDS). Also there are some binoculars.
2007-10-01 12:48:25 · answer #6 · answered by morningfoxnorth 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
No , they dont
2007-10-01 11:33:01 · answer #7 · answered by Buzz 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋