WUPPE is the Wisconsin Ultraviolet Photo-Polarimeter Experiment, designed to acquire simultaneous spectral and polarization data in the 1400 to 3300 Angstrom spectral range, requiring operation in space. The primary mirror is 50 cm (20 inches) in diameter, allowing observation down to 16th magnitude. PSL designed and built some primary structural components for telescope, including the main telescope tube that spaces the optics in the Cassegrain configuration. The UW Space Astronomy Lab integrated the PSL-provided parts in preparation for shipment to Kennedy Space Flight Center and inclusion into the Astro-1 payload, scheduled for launch on the flight following the January 1986 Challenger launch. After the Challenger accident, scientific flights were lower priority than military and other classified flights, so Astro-1 (NASA Mission STS-35) and WUPPE waited until December 1990.

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