Idea for ISS

[OnyxAltair]

I was thinking they should put an observatory module onto the International space station. Would be cool... but hard to keep still XD

[iamwearingpants]

We already have the Cupola (Peekaboo!)

But if you mean space telescopes, I wouldn\'t say that\'s a good idea. AFAIK the rest of the station would interfere with the telescope\'s vision, with all the visual reflections and radio signals and stuff coming from it.

[OnyxAltair]

I was thinking like one of those huge observatorys like in hawaii

[Kryten]

They do actually have a telescope on the ISS, though it\'s only meant to see cosmic rays.

[OnyxAltair]

I mean like one to look for planets, like the Hubble space telescope but up to date and would be easier to control

[OtherDalfite]

Thing is, it could take months or years to develop something like that and be a little silly because they are so close to earth. The light from the atmosphere and cities would make it blinding (if you are looking for planets) and wouldn\'t work as optimally as a high altitude telescope.

[OnyxAltair]

True but the space station took longer than that. And The Hubble Space Telescope

in low earth orbit and it has no problems with the atmosphere (I think :S)

[Yourself]

The ISS is not the ideal place for a high performance telescope. Largely because the ISS is not easier to control (it\'s very hard to turn around and to make it point somewhere specific, even if you have a movable base on the telescope, you\'re pretty limited in the directions you can look). But then one major issue with the ISS is the vibration. It\'s full of people that are moving around and life support systems circulating air. It would be extremely difficult to get a sharp image out of that.

Not to mention that it\'d probably just be cheaper to actually build a standalone space telescope and place it somewhere more conducive to observations.

[OnyxAltair]

Hm... you have a point there... but what if it were its own module connected with some sort of inflatable tunnel?

[VincentMcConnell]

We already have the Cupola (Peekaboo!)

Wait... 'We'?

Is there something about your profession you\'re not telling us?

(It\'s possible we actually have astronauts on this forum...)

[iamwearingpants]

Wait... 'We'?

Is there something about your profession you\'re not telling us?

(It\'s possible we actually have astronauts on this forum...)

Woah woah woah... Woah. Me? An astronaut? NASA is smart than that

[OnyxAltair]

Exactly, you must be a Taikonaut! ;P

[GOOMH]

True but the space station took longer than that. And The Hubble Space Telescope

in low earth orbit and it has no problems with the atmosphere (I think :S)

But you got to remember that Hubble telescope is much higher than ISS. (ISS Ap around 400 km Hubble around 550 km). Plus we have all the other stuff that has been mentioned.