Hubble Telescope

        On April 24, 1990 the Hubble Telescope was launched into space. This was a historical day because this was one of  (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) NASA’s longest-lasting and most successful projects. The Hubble has beamed hundreds of thousands of pictures to Earth from space. From the night sky, one might not think much of those little beams of light, but with the Hubble’s help, humankind can see into the depths of space and learn about solar systems, galaxies, and stars. “ It has also helped us to place our home and our lives in a wider context, balancing our concept of the vastness and permanence of planet Earth with the realization that we actually live on a rather small planet and that half the planets in our solar system are much bigger.”^[1] 

        In 1923, a German scientist named, Hermann Oberth suggested sending a telescope into space aboard a rocket. In 1981, the Space Telescope Science Institute was established to evaluate proposals for the telescope. The Hubble was named after an astronomer, Edwin Hubble, because he proved that the patches of light in the night sky are actually other galaxies. Hubble also proved the universe was expanding. “ That same year would also see the naming of the telescope after Edwin P. Hubble, a notable astronomer who conducted extensive research into stars and galaxies and was the first to prove that the universe is expanding.”^[2] 

        Contracted to assemble the telescope was the Perkin-Elmer Corporation, and Lockheed Missiles was hired to build the structure and supporting systems, put the telescope together, and test the telescope.  After practice in an underwater simulation, the Hubble was scheduled for October 1986. However, on January 28th, 1986, the Challenger Space shuttle exploded. In effect shuttle flights stopped for two years, and Hubble was moved into storage although still being worked on.

        Finally, on April 24, 1990, the Hubble space telescope was launched into orbit around earth aboard the Discovery space shuttle. The Hubble brought along multiple important tools to help space discovery. “ The telescope carried five instruments: The Wide Field/Planetary Camera, the Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph, the Faint Object Camera, the Faint Object Spectrograph and the High Speed Photometer.”^[3]

        Soon after the launch of the Hubble, scientists began to receive the images taken, and realized they were blurry. This was due to a spherical aberration, which was fixed in 1993 by COSTAR (Corrective Optics Space Telescope Axial Replacement). COSTAR was a series of small mirrors used to intercept the light, and correct the flaw.  “Shortly after the crew returned to Earth and the Hubble Space Telescope began returning sharp and spectacular images, NASA deemed the servicing mission a success.”^[4]