For 35 years, the Hubble Space Telescope has served as humanity’s tireless eye in the sky, capturing breathtaking views of the cosmos and transforming our understanding of the universe. The school-bus-sized observatory launched on April 24, 1990 and overcame early setbacks to become one of the most scientifically productive instruments in history. From its vantage point 320 miles (515 kilometers) above Earth, the telescope has sent home more than 1.6 million observations contributing to over 21,000 scientific papers. The Hubble Telescope‘s legacy lies not just in its iconic visuals, but…
Read MoreDay: April 24, 2025
Aging gracefully: The Hubble Telescope is in ‘excellent technical condition’ on its 35th birthday, its chief scientist says
The Hubble Space Telescope is celebrating its 35th anniversary in space today, but even as a senior citizen in the spacecraft population, it is showing no sign of slowing down. “Hubble is more scientifically productive now than ever before, which is kind of mind-blowing,” Jennifer Wiseman, the Senior Project Scientist for Hubble at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, told Space.com. Launched in 1990 by NASA and operated jointly with the European Space Agency, the Hubble Space Telescope was a dream brought to reality. All of a sudden, scientists could harness…
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