Click on image for full size
Courtesy of NASA
Related links:
Hubble is Going Strong After 10 Years
News story originally written on April 14, 2000
April 24, 1990, marked the beginning of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). This powerful observatory has been the world's eyes in space, peering into the deepest parts of the Universe. NASA and the scientific community are celebrating the 10 year anniversary of the HST this month.
"This month marks the anniversary of one of the greatest observatories ever flown. We have watched in awe as the Hubble Space Telescope has produced some of the most amazing images about the Universe that surrounds us," said Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski (D-MD). "I am so proud of the NASA team that has worked to keep it running and I'm pleased my support has kept your efforts funded and in business."
Thanks to scheduled servicing missions, the HST is still going strong. The mission is scheduled to continue up to 2010, at which point the Next Generation Space Telescope will take over. But right now, scientists are excited about the strives we've made with this wonderful machine.
"Not since Galileo aimed a small 30-power telescope into the night sky in 1609 has humanity's vision of the Universe been so revolutionized in such a short time span by a single instrument," said Dr. David Leckrone, Hubble Project Scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD. "The Hubble Space Telescope has seen further and more clearly than any visible-light telescope before it, and has revolutionized the science of astronomy. It already has earned a place as one of the wonders of the modern world."
So far, the HST has studied 13,760 objects, made 271,000 observations and holds many records, including the deepest view of the Universe in visible light. The United Postal Service released a set of postage stamps to commemorate the Hubble.
