COSTAR is not really a science instrument; it is a corrective optics package that displaced the High Speed Photometer (HSP) during the first servicing mission. COSTAR is designed to optically correct the effects of the primary mirror's aberration on the Faint Object Camera (FOC). All the other instruments, installed since HST's initial deployment, were designed with their own corrective optics. When the FOC is replaced by the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) during Servicing Mission 3B, COSTAR will no longer be needed.
COSTAR Facts |
| "Instrument" type |
Corrective optics |
|
COSTAR being inserted into Hubble during First Servicing Misson.
Two images taken of the same region before and after the correction of Hubble's aberration with COSTAR. |
