Hubble Telescope Looks to the Future after 23 Years in Space

摘要

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope achieved a whopping 23 years in orbit April 24, but astronomers are hopeful that the iconic instrument can keep studying the heavens for years to come. The Hubble team is aiming to keep the telescope - which launched aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery April 24, 1990-operating through 2020. That would ensure at least one year of overlap with its $8.8 billion successor, the Northrop Grumman-built James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), which is slated to launch in late 2018.