Hubble Space Telescope Hubble Space Telescope The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is a space telescope that was launched into low Earth orbit in 1990 and remains in operation. Although not the first space telescope, Hubble is one of the largest and most versatile and is well known as both a vital research tool and a public relations boon for astronomy. The HST is named after the astronomer Edwin Hubble and is one of NASA's Great Observatories, along with the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory, the Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Spitzer Space Telescope. With a mirror, Hubble's four main instruments observe in the near
Space Shuttle Columbia disaster Space Shuttle Columbia disaster On February 1, 2003, the Space Shuttle "Columbia" disintegrated upon reentering Earth's atmosphere, killing all seven crew members. The disaster was the second fatal accident in the Space Shuttle program after Space Shuttle "Challenger", which broke apart and killed the seven-member crew 73 seconds after liftoff in 1986. During the launch of STS-107, "Columbia"'s 28th mission, a piece of foam insulation broke off from the Space Shuttle external tank and struck the left wing of the orbiter. A few previous shuttle launches had seen damage ranging from minor to nearly catastrophic from foam shedding, but some