This is the original mounting cradle and associated transport and maneuvering assembly used to hold the flight primary mirror for the Hubble Space Telescope during the manufacturing and testing process. This cradle was specially designed to hold the heavy but fragile mirror when moved among different locations during the manufacturing process. A wheeled transporter was custom designed to allow the cradle-mounted mirror to be moved about and to rotate it in the vertical plane.
The assembly was manufactured by the Perkin Elmer Company. It was donated to NASM by NASA by Raytheon, the successor organization, in 2000. The cradle holds the backup Hubble Space Telescope Mirror. It was slightly modified for display.
Display Status
This object is not on display at the National Air and Space Museum. It is either on loan or in storage.
Object Details
Country of Origin
United States of America
Type
EQUIPMENT-Design, Manufacture, Test
Manufacturer
Perkin-Elmer Corporation
Dimensions
3-D: 279.4 × 152.4 × 304.8cm (11.0 × 6.0 × 10 ft.)
Storage (A20010288001D&E): 64.8 × 64.8 × 41.6cm (25 1/2 × 25 1/2 × 16 3/8 in.)
Materials
Iron, Stainless Steel
A20010288001D: Steel, Copper Alloy, Cadmium Plating, Stainless Steel, Adhesive, Foil, Paint, Plastic, Ink
A20010288001E: Steel
Inventory Number
A20010288001
Credit Line
Transferred from the Raytheon Company through NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center.
Data Source
National Air and Space Museum
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
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