HANDS ON WITH HUBBLE - NASA AND ESA ASTRONAUTS REMEMBER

摘要

"As we separated from the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) after the successful deployment in 1990,I rememberthinking about how our understanding of the universe would change with HST now in orbit. Today, thirty years later, I confess that I was too conservative in my initial assessment. When I saw HST again in 1997 on Service Mission 2 (SM2) I was surprised how 7 years in the harsh environment of space had affected its appearance. However, HST's performance has improved over time, just as planned. As I tell my students, great things don't just happen. The fact that HST is still a world-class observatory is tribute to everyone who played a role." "Releasing the HST on Christmas day 1999 was a very special space gift, after 3 of the longest duration spacewalks aimed at taking it out of lethargy. On that same day the control center called up stating that the telescope was back 100% healthy and even 'Santa Claus' appeared in the cockpit of Discovery! The Hubble Space Telescope holds many astronomical and astronautical records including being the most beautiful and loved one."