Publisher's Synopsis
The origins of the HST including other observatories launched into space. Design and development of the HST including manufacture and assembly. The unique man-tended design philosophy for launch and servicing by Shuttle. Launch by Shuttle Discovery in April 1990, shortly after which faulty optics were discovered. Successful rescue mission by Shuttle Endeavour in December 1993 to fit corrective optics, followed by four more upgrade missions by Discovery, Columbia and Atlantis between 1997 and 2009. How the HST is operated from the US and Europe, and who uses it. What Hubble set out to achieve and what it has accomplished, including intriguing discoveries and theories made possible by Hubble, such as dark energy, exploding stars, the age of the universe, etc. Brief details of the successor to Hubble; the Webb Space Telescope and more advanced telescopes. Heavily illustrated with breathtaking NASA photographs.
