Russia have just 10 days ago launched the most powerful telescope into space. Launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, scientists have nicknamed the Zenit-3SB the "green" rocket because it uses kerosene and oxygen as its fuel and is actually, shock horror, environmentally friendly.
The rocket was developed jointly by Russia and Ukraine and will propel into orbit a new generation space telescope designed to extend mankind's understanding of the forming of galaxies.
Yeah, right, maybe it's looking at Nibiru and Elenin??
Anyway, this will be the first radio-telescope that Russia has put into space in over 25 years. Scientists have chosen a highly eccentric orbit for the station to allow it to turn under the Moon's gravity to scan the sky. The 10-meter telescope will be capable of registering solar wind, quasars, black holes and neutron stars. This huge eye will be able to provide detailed images of the universe with a resolution 1,000 times sharper than America's Hubble. After a four-hour journey to orbit, the Radiostron will connect to a control center on Earth and some time will be needed for the Radiostron to unfold its 27 petals and make everything ready to work. Within a month or two we will start receiving the first images of the universe from space. This mission is expected to last five years.
