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The Idea for a Space Telescope is Proposed
Following WWII, a professor and researcher at Yale University named Lyman Spitzer proposed the idea that a space telescope would be more effective than an Eath-based telescope. The Earth's atmosphere bends light given off by stars and other celestial objects, thus making the image unclear. If there was a telescope in space, astronomers would get a clearer image that is clearer and easier to study. -
The Start of Studies for a Space Telescope Were Approved
George Low of NASA approved that studies on the telescope could be started by the Large Space Telescope Science Steering Group. -
Congress Granted Funding for the Hubble
NASA teamed up with the European Space Research Organization (ESRO) to reduce the price of building the telesope and reduced the sie of a mirror from 3 meters to 2.4 meters to bring the price of the project from $400 million-$500 million down to $200 million. After this changed, Congress granted funding for the telescope. -
Designing the Hubble Begins
NASA had a contract with Perkin-Elmer Corporation who were to build the mirrors and obptics of the telescope. Also, the spacecraft and support systems were to be built by Lockheed Missiles and Space Company while the Europeans were in charge of the solar panels that would give the Hubble power while in orbit. -
The Telescope was Named After Edwin P. Hubble
In 1983, the telescope was officially named after Edwin P. Hubble, an astronomer who researched stars and galaxies and was one of the first to prove that the universe was expanding. Also in 1983, NASA planned to launch, but were delayed becuse the optics were not completed until 1984 thus the telescope wasn't completed until 1985. -
The Hubble is Launched
The Hubble telescope launched aboard Discovery and had a large array of equipment including a Wide Field/Planetary Camera (WF/PC), Goddard High Resolution Spectograph (GHRS), Faint Object Camera (FOC), Faint Object Spectograph (FOS), and High Speed Photometer (HSP) to successfully captre images of celestial objects. However, shortly after the Hubble started operating, NASA realized that many of the images were blurry. -
The First Repair Mission for the Hubble
After discovering that the Hubble was sending blurred images back to Earth, scientist found out that a mirror was slightly too thin on the edges. COSTAR (Corrective Optics Space Telescope Axial Replacement) was the set of optics that would correct the malfunction and would allow all the Hubble's parts to work properly. The crew of STS-61 went to repair Hubble using new tools that were never before used in space and completed the repairs in five back-to-back spacewalks. -
New Cameras Were Added
STS-82 installed the Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS) and the Space Telescope Imaging Spectograph (STIS) to pick up infrared light that is given off by objects in space and to take more detailedphotographs. -
More Updates Were Made To Hubble
Six of the telescopes yroscopes were replaced so that the telescope would go where astronomers wanted it to go. Astronauts on board STS-103 replaced a fine guidance sensor and installed a new computer. The Hubble was redeployed on Christmas Day. -
New Technology is Added to the Hubble
Crews aboard STS-109 replaced the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) was installed giving Hubble sharper vision, a wider field of view, and quicker data gathering than WF/PC 2. Also the solar panels on the Hubble were replaced making them more efficient.
