#astro-1

"Onboard the Space Shuttle Orbiter Columbia (STS-35), the various components of the Astro-1 payload are seen backdropped against dark space. Parts of the Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope (HUT), Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (UIT), and the Wisconsin Ultraviolet Photo-Polarimetry Experiment (WUPPE) are visible on the Spacelab pallet. The Broad-Band X-Ray Telescope (BBXRT) is behind the pallet and is not visible in this scene. The smaller cylinder in the foreground is the igloo. The igloo was a pressurized container housing the Command Data Management System, that interfaced with the in-cabin controllers to control the Instrument Pointing System (IPS) and the telescopes. The Astro Observatory was designed to explore the universe by observing and measuring the ultraviolet radiation from celestial objects. Astronomical targets of observation selected for Astro missions included planets, stars, star clusters, galaxies, clusters of galaxies, quasars, remnants of exploded stars (supernovae), clouds of gas and dust (nebulae), and the interstellar medium. Managed by the Marshall Space Flight Center, the Astro-1 was launched aboard the Space Shuttle Orbiter Columbia (STS-35) on December 2, 1990."

Date: December 2, 1990

"During the STS-35 mission, the Astronomy Laboratory 1 (ASTRO-1) payload, in its on-orbit operating configuration in the payload bay (PLB), is silhouetted against the firing of a reaction control system (RCS) jet. In the center of the frame, three ultraviolet telescopes are mounted and precisely co-aligned on a common structure, called the cruciform, that is attached to the instrument pointing system (IPS). Visible on the cruciform are Integrated Radiator System (IRS) (silver box on left), the Optical Sensor Package (OSP) (above IRS), the Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (UIT), and the star tracker (S TRK) (far right). A right RCS jet is fired during this maneuver of Columbia (OV-102)."

Date: December 10, 1990

"STS-35 lifted off December 2, 1990, at 1:19 am EST, aboard the Space Shuttle Orbiter Columbia. Her crew of eight included: Vance D. Brand, commander; Colonel Guy S. Gardner, pilot; mission specialists Dr. Robert A. R. Parker, John M. (Mike) Lounge, and Dr. Jeffery A. Hoffman; and payload specialists Dr. Kenneth H. Nordsieck, Dr. Samual T. Durrance, and Dr. Ronald A. Parise. The primary objective of the mission was round the clock observation of the celestial sphere in ultraviolet and X-Ray astronomy with the Astro-1 Observatory which consisted of four telescopes: the Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope (HUT); the Wisconsin Ultraviolet Photo-Polarimeter Experiment (WUPPE); the Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (UIT); and the Broad Band X-Ray Telescope (BBXRT). Due to loss of data used for pointing and operating the ultraviolet telescopes, Marshall Space Flight Center ground teams were forced to aim the telescopes with fine tuning by the flight crew."

Mission patch: "Designed by the crewmembers assigned to the mission, the STS-35 crew patch symbolizes the Space Shuttle flying above Earth's atmosphere to better study the many celestial objects of the universe, represented by the constellation Orion." source

Date: December 2, 1990

"In 1986, NASA introduced a Shuttle-borne ultraviolet observatory called Astro. The Astro Observatory was designed to explore the universe by observing and measuring the ultraviolet radiation from celestial objects. Astronomical targets of observation selected for Astro missions included planets, stars, star clusters, galaxies, clusters of galaxies, quasars, remnants of exploded stars (supernovae), clouds of gas and dust (nebulae), and the interstellar medium. Astro-1 used a Spacelab pallet system with an instrument pointing system and a cruciform structure for bearing the three ultraviolet instruments mounted in a parallel configuration. The three instruments were: The Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope (HUT), which was designed to obtain far-ultraviolet spectroscopic data from white dwarfs, emission nebulae, active galaxies, and quasars; the Wisconsin Ultraviolet Photo-Polarimeter Experiment (WUPPE) which was to study polarized ultraviolet light from magnetic white dwarfs, binary stars, reflection nebulae, and active galaxies; and the Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (UIT) which was to record photographic images in ultraviolet light of galaxies, star clusters, and nebulae. The star trackers that supported the instrument pointing system were also mounted on the cruciform. Also in the payload bay was the Broad Band X-Ray Telescope (BBXRT), which was designed to obtain high-resolution x-ray spectra from stellar corona, x-ray binary stars, active galactic nuclei, and galaxy clusters. Managed by the Marshall Space Flight Center, the Astro-1 observatory was launched aboard the Space Shuttle Orbiter Columbia (STS-35) on December 2, 1990."

Date: 1989

This mission planned to launch on Space Shuttle Columbia and was scheduled for March 6, 1986. It was notable because it would have observed Halley's Comet during it's flyby of Earth. It was canceled after the Challenger disaster.

"Columbia was to carry the ASTRO-1 observatory, which would be used to make astronomical observations including observations of Halley's Comet. ASTRO-1 consisted of three ultraviolet telescopes mounted on two Spacelab pallets, controlled by the Instrument Pointing System (IPS) which was first tested on STS-51-F.

Photographed on March 8, 1986 from Easter Island, as part of the International Halley Watch (IHW) Large Scale Phenomena Network, this view occurred at precisely the time the STS-61E should have been directing their ultraviolet telescopes toward the fabled celestial visitor.

After the Challenger disaster, the flight was remanifested as STS-35 and several crew members were replaced. Both Richards and Leestma were reassigned to STS-28 while McBride left NASA in 1989. Vance D. Brand replaced McBride as the commander while Guy S. Gardner and John M. Lounge replaced Richards and Leestma, respectively."

Back in time, 1990 NASA Image: : Spacelab

This image was taken in 1990. Space can be such an amazingly beautiful and interesting place.

Spacelab

In this photograph, the instruments of the Astro-1 Observatory are erected in the cargo bay of the Columbia orbiter. Astro-1 was launched aboard the the Space Shuttle Orbiter Columbia (STS-35) mission on December 2, 1990. The Astro Observatory was designed to explore the universe by observing…

‘You Need to Hear All the Notes’: 25 Years Since STS-35 (Part 2)

Stunning perspective of Namibia, as viewed by the STS-35 crew, 25 years ago, in December 1990. Photo Credit: NASA, via Joachim Becker/SpaceFacts.de Had history smiled with more favor, ASTRO-1 might have taken place almost three decades ago, but the Space Shuttle’s first mission totally dedicated to astrophysics was repeatedly delayed in the aftermath of the Challenger accident and eventually…

‘Like Night Flying in an Airplane’: 25 Years Since STS-35 (Part 1)

But for the tragic loss of Challenger, the ASTRO-1 mission might have flown just five weeks later, in March 1986. As circumstances transpired, it would be more than four years before the mission rose into orbit. Photo Credit: NASA, via Joachim Becker/SpaceFacts.de A quarter-century ago, this week, four powerful ultraviolet and X-ray “eyes” peered out from the payload bay of the Earth-circling…