Jim Roth
Professor Oxford
English 201
4 June 2004
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. "It was a view akin to a dusty contact lens or
trying to see a sharp image through dirty water" (Nguyen 103).
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. This would cost millions of dollars and
delay receiving any deep space information for several years (Jacobs and Moore
68). 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. 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.
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. 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” (Davis and Hill 123).
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. "If the lens measurements were off more than the
width of a human hair, the Hubble's vision would probably be made worse" (Nova).
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. One researcher said that
"to complete the mission would require orchestration of countless tasks
without error" ("The Hubble Finally Works" 69). 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. As Nguyen wrote, “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" (104).
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. 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). 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 The Hubble. New York: Roundhill Press, 2003.
Davis, Andrea K., and Robert Hill. History
of the Hubble Telescope. Boston, Patriot Press, 1998.
"The
Hubble Finally Works." The Spokesman Review 17 Jan. 1994: B3.
Jacobs, Alice L. and Marilyn Moore.
"Correcting the Hubble's Sight." Scientific Adventures
Nov. 2003: 68-72.
Landis,
Carl. Personal interview. 12 March. 2004.
Nguyen,
Nova. PBS
Television. 15 Jan. 2003.