NASA gives Hubble hardware to Smithsonian

The instruments -- the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC-2) and the Corrective Optics Space Telescope Axial Replacement (COSTAR) -- were returned to Earth aboard space shuttle Atlantis in May after more than 15 years in space.

"This was the camera that saved Hubble," said Ed Weiler, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate. "I have looked forward for a long time to stand in front of this very instrument while on display to the public."

After Hubble's deployment in 1990, scientists realized the telescope's primary mirror had a flaw that caused fuzzy images, NASA said.

Hubble's first servicing mission in 1993 by space shuttle Endeavour provided the telescope with hardware that acted as eye glasses. The mission added the WFPC-2 and COSTAR. The WFPC-2 provided the optical correction, while COSTAR provided corrections for other Hubble instruments.

The WFPC-2 recorded more than 135,000 observations of celestial objects from 1993 to 2009, scientists said, making it the longest serving and most prolific instrument aboard Hubble.

The Hubble instruments will be on display through mid-December. They then will travel to Southern California to go on temporary display at several venues before returning to Washington in March for permanent residence at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.

Copyright 2009 by United Press International.