|
Jim Roth’s Website Sources to add support and make the paper more interesting.
Blend these for authoritative support and enhancement As one expert said, "It was a view akin to a dusty contact lens or trying
to see a sharp image through dirty water" (Why Couldn't). ? This would
cost millions of dollars and delay receiving any deep space information for
several years (Jacobs and Moore 68). As Carl Landis, a local astronomer, said,
Even the most sophisticated super computer wouldn’t have the power and speed
necessary to clear up the image. Plus, the computer program would
have to make several guesses concerning the image it was trying to
process. We would be spending millions on an image we couldn't really
trust or make accurate measurements from. It would be like guessing
what was out there. As one
mission planner said, “Planning the mission
was probably more difficult than deciding which 'cure' to use. In fact,
many of us doubted we could complete the planning successfully” (Landis). ? "If the lens
measurements were off more than the width of a human hair, the Hubble's
vision would probably be made worse" (Why Couldn’t) One researcher said that "to
complete the mission would require orchestration of countless tasks without
error" ("The Hubble Finally
Works" 69). According to one periodical, “No more was there any doubt that humans should be involved in space. Even though the risk to life remains, humans cannot be replaced by machines when an intricate, changing situation occurs." (The Edison Page) ? In addition to
discovering new clues about the universe's origin, astronomers were also
thrilled at the prospect of unlocking even more wonders (Baker 365).
Repairing the Hubble Telescope Several years ago, the Hubble Space Telescope was launched from a
space shuttle flight. Astronomers had hoped that with the telescope
orbiting high above earth's cloudy atmosphere, several questions about the
birth and fate of the universe could be answered. Unfortunately, after
the telescope was in orbit, technicians discovered that the telescope lens
had a flaw that made the pictures it sent to earth too fuzzy and imperfect to
lead to new discoveries. (Why Couldn't) Needless to say, this was a major
disappointment to those hoping to peer deeper into space. Because
of this unforeseen defect, a new lens would have to be fitted onto the
telescope if it were to perform as it was designed to. For several months after the defect was discovered, scientists and technicians considered three different ways to fix the problem. One was to build and launch a new telescope. (Jacobs and Moore) Another idea was to build a super computer that could clear up the pictures the current Hubble sent to earth. However, even a super computer would have to "guess" several parts of an enhanced picture. (Landis) The final option was to build and install a corrective "contact lens" for the Hubble, much as doctors and technicians make for humans with vision problems. This solution would require tolerances never before achieved in a lens. Added to this was the necessity to install the corrective lens in space. Trying to anticipate as many problems as possible before the construction of the lens was a daunting task. (Landis).
Once scientists decided to build and install a corrective lens, the
construction began in June of 1992. The lens was designed to bring into
focus the flawed part of the original telescope lens, thus giving the Hubble
the equivalent of 20/20 vision. As said earlier, to achieve this,
tolerances had to be nearly perfect for the corrective lens to work. (Why Couldn't) Fortunately,
technology was up to the task, and the corrective lens fell well within
required tolerances. Once the corrective lens was formed, astronauts on a space shuttle mission would attempt to install it and make fine adjustments. This was a repair job without rival in terms of complexity. ("The Hubble Finally Works"). The risk
was great, but so was the payoff: the original Hubble Space Telescope
would be saved along with millions of dollars and several years of work. In December 1993, astronauts aboard the space shuttle successfully installed the corrective lens. Since no space robot could have done the intricate work the astronauts were required to do, their success became one more reason why human repair and shuttle teams continue to be part of our space program. (The Edison Page)
After a few stressful weeks of "tuning,” scientists and technicians
reported that the Hubble's vision was perfect. The corrective lens
installed by the astronauts exceeded all expectations in repairing the
flaw. Because of the success of the repair effort, questions such as
"do black holes exist" and "how did the universe begin"
would receive fresh, never-before-seen information. (Baker) In many ways, it seems fortunate that
the Hubble needed repair. Its story is a one of human error being
corrected by human ingenuity to give all humans greater vision. Works Cited Baker, Elaine. Black Holes and Hubble. New York: Roundhill Press, 2012. The "The Hubble Finally Works.” The Spokesman Review 17 Jan. 2000:
B3. Jacobs, Alice L. and Marilyn Moore. "Correcting the Hubble's
Sight." Scientific Adventures Nov. 2010:
68-72. Landis, Carl. Personal interview. 12 Oct. 2014
Orion Web Reference. 5 Feb. 2001. Orion Space
Imaging. Web. 16 Oct. 2013. EClick here to see the full research paper example with these insertions in place. |