Helen+R

**The Hubble Space Telescope**
The Hubble Telescope named after the famous American Astronomer, Edwin Hubble, was launched on April 24th, 1990. The telescope has provided NASA with vital information and spectacular insight into the solar system.

In early 1923, the first space telescopes were proposed. The Hubble project was funded in 1970 and the proposed launch was 1983. The launch of the Hubble, one of the largest and most versatile telescopes was delayed after the Challenger disaster in 1986. NASA's second space shuttle orbiter '//The Challenger//' tore apart 73 seconds into its flight. As well as the uncertainty to whether the Hubble was fully prepared for use, there were technical delays, and budget difficulties. Due to the many issues surrounding the telescope, the launch wasn't until April 1990.

Once launched, it was visible from the images that although superior to any photo taken from earth, they were not the fine quality pictures expected. As a result, the only solution would be to have the first ever service mission. In December 1993, astronauts serviced the Hubble telescope in space, replacing the main mirror and correcting the image flaw.

After the success of the previous mission, there have been more adjustments, replacing observing instruments with more modern and capable versions. The last mission was May 2009, allowing the telescope to function until at least 2014 at which time the JWST (James Webb Space Telescope) is due to be launched.

The Hubble telescope has now been in service for 19 years and has been a public relations boon for astronomy. Although the JWST is far superior to the Hubble, it is not designed to replace current telecopes, but to complement them.