Space telescope Hubble Space Telescope, which was launched on April 24, 1990 by the Space Shuttle "Discovery" (STS-31). Performing astronomy from ground-based observatories on Earth is limited by the filtering and distortion of electromagnetic radiation (scintillation or twinkling) due to the atmosphere. Some terrestrial telescopes can reduce atmospheric effects with adaptive optics. A telescope orbiting Earth outside the atmosphere is subject neither to twinkling nor to light pollution from artificial light sources on Earth. As a result, the angular resolution of space telescopes is often much smaller than a ground-based telescope with a similar aperture. Space-based astronomy is even more important for
Space Shuttle Columbia disaster orbiter prevented safe reentry. The shuttle's main fuel tank is covered in thermal insulation foam intended to prevent ice from forming when the tank is full of liquid hydrogen and oxygen. Such ice could damage the shuttle if shed during lift-off. Mission STS-107 was the 113th Space Shuttle launch. Planned to begin on January 11, 2001, the mission was delayed 18 times and eventually launched on January 16, 2003, following STS-113. (The Columbia Accident Investigation Board determined that this delay had nothing to do with the catastrophic failure.) 81.7 seconds after launch from Kennedy Space Center's LC-39-A, a suitcase-sized piece