| 1923:
|
Famed
rocket scientist Hermann Oberth publishes an article speculating
on telescopes in orbit. |
| 1946: |
Astronomer
Lyman Spitzer writes a report entitled the "Astronomical
Advantages of an Extra-terrestrial Observatory," in which
he discusses the feasibility of building, launching, and operating
a satellite observatory. |
| 1957: |
Russians
launch first satellite, Sputnik. |
| 1958: |
Congress
creates the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA),
a civilian space agency. |
| 1962: |
A
National Academy of Sciences study group recommends a large
space telescope as a long-range goal of NASA. |
| 1968: |
NASA
successfully launches OAO-II, a small space observatory that
orbited Earth for 41/2 years, measuring ultraviolet emissions
of galaxies, stars, planets, and comets. |
| 1969: |
The
National Academy of Sciences publishes the "Scientific
Uses of the Large Space Telescope" and approves the telescope
project. |
| 1971: |
The
Large Space Telescope Science Steering Group is established
and begins feasibility studies for a 3-meter space telescope. |
| 1975: |
The
European Space Agency agrees to participate in the project.
The telescope's size is reduced to 2.4 meters. |
| 1977: |
Congress
approves the budget for a space telescope. Lockheed Missiles
and Space Company wins the contract to design and build the
telescope. Perkins-Elmer is awarded the contract to construct
the optical telescope assembly, which includes the 2.4-meter
primary mirror, the secondary mirror, and the three fine guidance
sensors. |
| 1979: |
Astronauts
begin underwater training with telescope mockup. |
| 1981: |
The
Space Telescope Science Institute is established as the telescope's
science operations center on the campus of the Johns Hopkins
University in Baltimore, Md. |
| 1983: |
The
telescope is named the Hubble Space Telescope after renowned
astronomer Edwin P. Hubble. |
| 1986: |
The
telescope's launch is delayed after the Challenger accident.
The telescope is kept in storage at Lockheed. |
| 1989: |
The
telescope is shipped from Lockheed Missiles and Space Company
in California to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. |
| 1990: |
Hubble
is launched aboard space shuttle Discovery. |
| 1990: |
After
analyzing Hubble's first pictures in June, astronomers discover
that the telescope has "blurred vision," caused by
a slight distortion in the 2.4-meter primary mirror. |
| 1990: |
The
telescope resolves a ring of material around Supernova 1987A. |
| 1992: |
Hubble
identifies nearby intergalactic clouds. |
| 1993: |
The
orbiting observatory discovers protoplanetary disks in the Orion
Nebula. |
| 1993: |
The
first servicing mission takes place. Astronauts add a corrective
optics system to fix the telescope's myopic vision. |
| 1994: |
Hubble
provides a detailed view of the Comet Shoemaker-Levy collision
with Jupiter; offers definitive confirmation of the existence
of supermassive black holes; reveals details of Pluto's surface;
and captures a close-up look at jets and disks in young stellar
objects. |
| 1995: |
Through
the "eyes" of Hubble, a brown dwarf star is seen clearly.
Another observation, called the Hubble Deep Field, allows astronomers
to see to the edge of the universe. |
| 1996: |
Hubble
resolves the host galaxies of quasars. |
| 1997: |
The
second servicing mission takes place. Astronauts install two
new science instruments. |
| 1997: |
Hubble
identifies exotic populations of stars in globular clusters;
sees the visible afterglow of a gamma-ray burst in a distant
galaxy; and provides preliminary evidence for an accelerating
universe from supernova observations. |
| 1998: |
The
orbiting observatory detects a shock wave of debris striking
a ring of material around Supernova 1987A.
In
the Hubble Deep Field South observation, the telescope peers
across space in the southern sky.
Another
observation using Hubble's infrared camera provides the "deepest"
views of the universe.
|
| 1999: |
Hubble
observations allow astronomers to refine the universe's expansion
rate to within 10 percent accuracy. |
| 1999: |
The
third servicing mission takes place. Astronauts replace the
telescope's six gyroscopes, which help the orbiting observatory
point at celestial objects. |
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