Building/printing Hubble telescope scale 1:7 (finished!)

[Gina]

Grab handles added.

[Chriske]

One of the astronauts started his first EVA.
Probably repairing a few of my mistakes...🤭

[Gina]

Is the astronaut to scale?  I thought the HST was bigger than that.

[Chriske]

I thought so too as a matter of fact.
Yep, it is.

Astronaut is 25 cm x 7 = 175 cm.  That is a small astronaut imo. If I would make it my size it would be 28cm
Diameter HST is 60cm x 7 = 4.2 meter.

These smartphones have all wide angle lenses. So it is all a bit deformed, out of proportion.

[Gina]

Ah yes, forgot about wide angle distortion of the image.

[maw lod qan]

Sir, your skills are unbelievable!

[Chriske]

Thank you for the kind words..

[JOC]

That's an awesome build.  Do you know how much it weigh's and how are you going to transport it to your museum?

[Chriske]

Thanks JOC..!
This HST is to be hung in our local observatory. Transport will be done in my van.
The device I use to work on HST, I will screw it in the bottom of my van. A friend will sit beside it during the ride. It's only 3 (long) streets away from my home and workshop. Next Sunday D-day as a matter of fact. Total weight is about 30/35gkg. Parts sticking out of the hull will be removed before transport of course.

Now busy making/printing the very last smaller things, front-cover, astronauts brackets, Maybe we will put some tools in the astronauts hands. Hammer, nails, saw...🤭
Need to make a bracket to attach the WideFieldCamera3. That camera is floating outside HST while astronauts are working/installing it.

We also have to find proper names to put on each of the astronauts arm patch.

We also have to think WideFieldCamera3

[Chriske]

Just determined the COG. All components needed to be attached. Even a few astronauts were dumped in HST to find the correct spot.

[maw lod qan]

4 days till it's deployed?

Any chance of fixing up you van to look like the Space Shuttle?

[Chriske]

One minor issue about our HST project is that I had to built it all on my own.
It was suppose to be a two man job. Michel and I did lots of planning, research, lots of drawing together.  In the past he never drew, after a CAD-crash-course he's now drawing like the best...
Planning to gather, building that thing in my workshop, and then  'C19' comes along and 'kept us all at home'...😳

Pity... dam...!😡
 

[Chriske]

Today a few last/minor parts to be mounted on HST before it is 'shipped' to Urania(local observatory) tomorrow.
It'll not be hung tomorrow. Scaffold will be delivered only in a fortnight. So meanwhile it'll be parked there on the floor. If I had the room to store it, I'd rather keep it here. But now it's hanging in my van, and I need my van from time to time...😁

I hope all goes well during transport...fingers crossed..!

[Chriske]

These rods, I suppose there for strengthening/stabilizing the tube, 4 of them have been added. They run under the grips
Also a secondary secondary mirror holder. As a telescopebuilder I (of course...😁) added 4 collimation screws. Wonder if somebody will notice.

 

[Chriske]

On 02/06/2020 at 15:01, Gina said:

Is the astronaut to scale?  I thought the HST was bigger than that.

Mind-boggling isn't it..😳
In this case I made the astronaut juuuust a little bit taller, my size actually...😁

Forgot to blacken the inside of HST, sorry...

 

 

[Chriske]

 

 

Waiting to be finished and installed.

 

 

[Stu]

Amazing! Looking forward to seeing it installed.

[Gina]

That is a beauty! 

[Stub Mandrel]

Wowser!

"Build 'em big!"

[Chriske]

Waiting for the scaffold(next week), I'm busy making/finishing the last smaller parts for HST now.

- Painting frontcover
- Printing ESA logo(almost forgot)
- Making a few small counterweights to have HST perfectly balanced. In the future I'm planning to add a small motor to have HST very slowly rotating around a vertical axis. That's why the counterweights.
- Finding names to glue on the astronauts arm-patches.

 

[Chriske]

This the last stage...
Standing on a scaffolding, HST hanging just temporary, inserting one solar panel, to measure how much we had to shorten the threaded rods on which HST hangs.  We don't want the solar panels or antenna hanging to low. One last time we had to remove HST and now it finally hangs about 3 meters high at the entrance of our planetarium. Urania members were rather impressed of it's size and all the details.
A few more days to add some smaller parts, solar panels and antennas.
 

[Gina]

I wonder who had the idea of putting an alien face on the side of it  🤣

[Chriske]

While hanging there still to do these very last items :
Frontcover
Backcover
Pointers
Astronauts
Wiring
 

[Chriske]

Another picture taken in the entrance of our planetarium during work today.
in the background you see backlit pictures taken by HST. All these pictures are stacked 4 meters high 6 rows side by side. It's really awesome to look at.
Our manager is very proud..!

[maw lod qan]

Incredible work!