post 1900
hubble space telescope
Pluto
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has provided increasingly better pictures of Pluto since the telescope's launch into Earth orbit in April 24 1990.
Facts
Launched: April 24, 1990
Orbit height: 559km
Power: 2,800 watts
The Hubble Space Telescope has raised perspective and advanced optics allowing it to look further away than other ground-based optics are able to see. Because light takes time to travel long distances, the range of the HST (Hubble space telescope) makes it function similar to a time machine.
Use
used for looking at planets that no astronaut has went before.
Who Uses It
Host nations (United States and countries of the European Space Agency) that helped fund and build HST in the '70's and 80's, and contributed to its servicing and operation.