Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (UIT), ASTRO
Social Media Share Tools
Object Details
- Manufacturer
- NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center
- Summary
- Original flight object, the Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (UIT) was one of the major components of the ASTRO mission that flew twice in space, first on Columbia from 2 - 10 December 1990, and then on Endeavour from 3 to 17 March 1995. UIT is an F/9 Ritchey-Chretien reflecting telescope with a primary mirror 38 cm. in diameter. Light could be directed to either of two magnetically focused multi-stage image intensifiers that produced images that were then photographically recorded on 70-mm Kodak IIa-O spectroscopic film and stored for physical retrieval at the end of the mission. The two detection systems covered both the near-ultraviolet and far-ultraviolet wavelength ranges from 1200 to 3300 Angstroms, and the optical system produced 40 arc minute fields, just a bit larger than the full Moon. The two missions produced almost 1600 exposures of about 260 target fields, and these are available in various electronic formats for general use from a NASA website.
- UIT was built by the Laboratory of Astronomy and Solar Physics (LASP) at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. Theodore P. Stecher led the project. UIT recorded a wide range of astronomical sources including nebulae, supernova remnants, globular clusters, galaxies and clusters of galaxies. When a third flight of ASTRO was not funded, the UIT and its sister instruments, including the Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope and the BBXRT telescope, were retired. UIT and HUT were transferred to the National Air and Space Museum in 2005.
- Credit Line
- Transferred from NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center.
- Inventory Number
- A20050389000
- Restrictions & Rights
- Usage conditions apply
- Type
- INSTRUMENTS-Scientific
- Materials
- Synthetic Fabric, Kapton (Polymide), Aluminized Kapton, Adhesive, Plastic, Nylon, Gold Plating, Velcro,
- Acrylic (Plexiglas), Epoxy, Steel, Phenolic Resin, Composite, Rubber (Silicone), Brass
- Dimensions
- 3-D: 2 m 74.3cm × 91.4cm × 1 m 52.4cm, 680.4kg (108 × 36 × 5 ft., 1500lb.)
- Storage (Rehoused in original container): 299.1 × 106.7 × 191.8cm (117 3/4 × 42 × 75 1/2 in.)
- Country of Origin
- United States of America
- See more items in
- National Air and Space Museum Collection
- National Air and Space Museum
- Record ID
- nasm_A20050389000
- Metadata Usage (text)
- Not determined
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/nv982371e39-e085-4fb4-bbb3-9c151d6d3aa3
Related Content
There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page .
International media Interoperability Framework
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.