Astro 1 In Orbit
In December of 1990, the
Space Shuttle Columbia carried an
array of astronomical telescopes
high above the Earth's obscuring atmosphere to observe
the Universe at ultraviolet and x-ray wavelengths.
The telescopes, known by the acronyms
UIT,
HUT,
WUPPE, and
BBXRT,
are seen here in
Columbia's payload bay against a
spectacular view of
the constellation Orion.
The ultraviolet telescopes
were mounted on a common structure - HUT is visible in this view along with
a star tracker (the silver cone at the left).
The mission studied solar system, galactic,
and extra-galactic sources.