Russia to build telescope superior to Hubble

Moscow, Nov 21 (UNI) Russia plans to build a deep space exploration telescope superior to US-made Hubble Space Telescope.

''In cooperation with our colleagues from Germany, the United Kingdom, China and Spain, we have set ourselves the task of building the Spectrum-Ultraviolet telescope, which will surpass Hubble in some aspects,'' Director of the Astronomy Institute at the Russian Academy of Sciences, Boris Shustov told RIA Novosti news agency today.

Hubble has been the most successful and expensive project in astrophysics, costing over six billion dollars.

Mr Shustov said the telescope, with a 170-centimeter diameter antenna, will explore the structure of the universe in the ultraviolet spectrum.

He added under the government's federal space programme for 2006-2012, Russia will implement two other large projects - the launch of telescopes operating in other spectrums, the Spectrum-Radioastron and the Spectrum-X-Ray-Gamma.

The Spectrum-X-Ray-Gamma telescope will study galactic clusters, and consequently, the structure of the universe.

The Spectrum-Radioastron aims to study the structure of galactic and extra-galactic radio wave sources, their internal processes and other processes occurring near them. It will comprise of a space telescope and a ground tracking station.

''If the antenna of the radio-telescope is 300,000 kilometers from the Earth, and the other telescope is on the Earth, they will represent one gigantic telescope,'' Mr Shustov said pointing out ''The Spectrum-Radioastron project will make it possible to read a newspaper on the Moon.'' UNI XC SP SHB ND2058