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WFPC2

Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2

Also known as "the camera that saved Hubble," the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2, or WFPC2, served as the principal imaging instrument on the Hubble Space Telescope for 25-plus years, producing more than 135,000 of the most stunning photographs of the universe ever seen.

Hubble Foreground

Mission Statistics

Launch Date

Dec. 9, 1993

Type

Instrument

Target

Stars and Galaxies

Status

Past

About the mission

Also known as "the camera that saved Hubble," the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2, or WFPC2, served as the principal imaging instrument on the Hubble Space Telescope for 25-plus years, producing more than 135,000 of the most stunning photographs of the universe ever seen.

The camera that saved Hubble was actually not the camera that originally launched with the space telescope in 1990. The original Wide Field and Planetary Camera was not able to focus correctly due to a tiny error in the curvature of Hubble's main mirror, so in December 1993 astronauts replaced the camera with a second-generation version, WFPC2. In May 2009, astronauts installed a more advanced Imaging system on Hubble and brought WFPC2 back to Earth, where it is on display at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington.

Interactive 3D model of Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2. View the full interactive experience at Eyes on the Solar System.

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WFPC2 Information on National Space Science Data Center
Hubble Space Telescope - NASA Mission Page
WFPC3 Information on NASA Website
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