Russia is preparing the "Spektr-UF" space telescope, which is called the successor to "Hubble". It will study the Universe in ultraviolet light – where much is simply not visible from Earth. At the same time, Russia is not going to close the project off from the world. Astronomers from various countries, including unfriendly ones, will be able to submit applications to work with the observatory, said the project's scientific director, RAS academician Boris Shustov.
Shustov explained it simply: science is a global endeavor, and it is important to collect applications from the best astronomers from different countries.
Initially, "Spektr-UF" was conceived as an international observatory. But due to economic and geopolitical reasons, some foreign partners withdrew from the project, and some refused to supply instruments and equipment already manufactured and paid for by the Russian side. As a result, Russia had to replace some equipment and create its own, more advanced solutions.
Among these developments are photocathodes based on a cesium and iodine compound for the field camera unit.
The launch of "Spektr-UF" is scheduled for 2031. The observatory is expected to operate at an altitude of about 35 thousand km – which is approximately 70 times higher than Hubble's orbit. Thanks to modern equipment and such a location, the telescope will be able to obtain fundamentally new information about the Universe. It is planned that at least until 2041, "Spektr-UF" will be the only space telescope in the world that collects data in the ultraviolet range.