WHEN THE Hubble Space Telescope was launched almost 20 years ago, human beings had only the foggiest idea of what the universe looks like.
For centuries, people had peered out from beneath a thick ocean of air at planets, stars and galaxies. Even the most powerful telescopes placed on high mountains were visually impaired by currents of air carrying water, dust and soot. Even the best astronomical photographs could not show precise images.
The Hubble, once it was launched and its initial problems were solved by spacewalking astronauts, changed that. The cameras telescope, orbiting at 600 miles, has sent a stream of photographs and other data back to Earth. The clarity and precision of that new information has profoundly changed human understanding of the universe.
At the same time, the photos revealed unimaginable beauty. The Hubble telescope was built to serve the human mind, but the beauty it has revealed has fed the soul as well.
The Atlantis astronauts’ repair mission last week is expected to be the last human visit to the telescope. The space shuttles that have serviced the Hubble since it was launched will soon be taken out of service, and the world will no longer have a manned space truck. The shuttles will be replaced by the new Orion capsules, intended to carry crews into orbit to the space station or the moon, but not to conduct independent repair missions.
But last week’s repairs — the most complex tasks so far accomplished in space by human labor — should keep the Hubble working until its own replacement, the Webb Space Telescope, is launched and working.
The astronauts did magnificent work. Because of their skill, the universe will continue to reveal its secrets and its beauty to all the people of the Earth.
Patrick S. Kelley
Editorial Page Editor