Spy Agency Gives NASA Telescopes More Powerful Than Hubble

By Matt Vasilogambros

Updated: May 29, 2013 | 9:56 p.m.
June 5, 2012 | 8:32 a.m.

This color image was taken using the Hubble Space Telescope's Wide Field Camera 3 in December 2009. (NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration)

The National Reconnaissance Office, a U.S. spy agency, has given NASA two military spy telescopes that have a field of view 100 times greater than the Hubble Space Telescope, The Washington Post reports.

The gift could be a boost to the financially strained space agency that is six years from launching its own telescope.

The two military telescopes never left the ground and have been in storage in New York. Although they are “space qualified,” as NASA put it, they are a long way from being ready for use.

Get the latest news and analysis delivered to your inbox. Sign up for National Journal's morning alert, Wake-Up Call, and afternoon newsletter, The Edge. Subscribe here.