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On this day: Hubble space telescope launches on Space Shuttle Discovery
More than two decades ago, the Space Shuttle Discovery lifted off carrying a scientific instrument that would rewrite history.
More than two decades ago, the Space Shuttle Discovery lifted off carrying a scientific instrument that would rewrite history.
On April 24, 1990, Discovery’s payload - the Hubble space telescope - began its mission. It was the biggest space telescope ever launched.
Hubble’s mission was supposed to last just 20 years - but it is now predicted to last until 2018, thanks to a series of repairs in space.
The telescope has redefined our knowledge of the universe - showing that the universe is expanding at an accelerating rate, and offering glimpses of the universe’s earliest days.
The iconic Hubble Deep Field image, captured in 1996, showed off nearly 3,000 galaxies in a previously “blank” area of sky. Hubbles images, taken outside of Earth's atmosphere, are among the most detailed visible-light images ever taken.
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The Deep Field images offered a glimpse of the very earliest days of the universe - and were followed up with even more detailed images called Ultra-Deep Field and Extreme Deep Field.
Hubble’s discoveries have changed our understanding of the history of the universe - and offered insights into objects such as supermassive black holes, now thought to lurk at the centre of most galaxies, including our own.
The space telescope is powered by two 25-foot solar panels and orbits our planet 380 miles up, at a speed of 17,500mph.
Hubble, which launched in 1990, still generates 360 gigabytes of image data every month - but is no longer being serviced after a final repair mission in 2009.
When it stops functioning, a rocket will attach a propulsion system to Hubble so it can safely 'de orbit' - the telescope is too big to fully burn up on re-entry.
Its replacment, James Webb Space Telescope, will launch in 2018. The JWS is built to look back to the dawn of time, the moments just after the Big Bang.
The 21-foot infrared-optimised telescope will be able to see across billions of light-years - capturing images of distant galaxies just after they formed.
The instrument has cost $8.8 billion - £5.9 billion - to develop, according to Space.com.
