October 23, 2021

NASA Veteran Says Hubble Was ‘Critically Important’ For Astronomy

The upcoming launch of the James Webb Space Telescope is being widely viewed as a pivotal moment in the exploration of space.

It is due to be launched during December to succeed the Hubble Space Telescope, ending 31 years of service for the iconic research tool.

NASA has collaborated with the European Space Agency has collaborated on the project which is expected to be finished within its current $8.8 billion cost cap.

The telescope arrived at Pariacabo Harbour in French Guiana on October 12 ahead of its launch on an Ariane 5 rocket from Europe’s Spaceport on December 18.

The Webb has been designed to resolve unanswered questions about the universe, including the origins of the first galaxies, stars, and planets.

Following the launch, the telescope will travel to Lagrange Point 2 (L2), a gravitationally stable point 930,000 miles from Earth.

It will take around a month to arrive at its destination, before spending a period cooling down and stabilizing. The mission team will then align its optics and calibrate its scientific instruments.

While the Webb will take space exploration to a different level, many space veterans are full of admiration for the achievements of the Hubble.

Dr. Steven Hawley spent more than 32 days in space across five separate Space Shuttle missions between 1984 and 1999.

The 69-year-old was one of the crews responsible for placing the telescope into orbit in 1990, and he believes its achievements should not be underestimated.

In a recent interview with Betway, Hawley said: “For some 30 years, Hubble has been in orbit.

“It has been revolutionary for astronomy. Far more so than at least I had imagined it could be. It was critically important.”

Hawley is now a director of engineering physics and a professor of astronomy and physics at Kansas University and is still heavily involved in space-related research.

In astronomy and astrophysics, he investigates the spectrophotometry of gaseous nebulae and active or star-forming galaxies.

Hawley uses emission-line strengths to determine chemical abundances and other properties of astrophysical interest.

He is also interested in issues associated with human spaceflight, the history of the Space Shuttle program, and the development and operation of telescopes in space, including on the Moon.

While Hawley’s research is regularly published in respected journals, he admits that he never thought he would head down this career path.

“I followed the space program as a kid,” he added. “Al Shephard launched when I was in fifth grade.

“But I never thought I could be an astronaut because they were all military test pilots and I wanted to be an astronomer.

“It wasn’t obvious to me that I had the necessary skill set to be successful. I had never flown an airplane before or done anything particularly dangerous.”

Hawley took his first steps towards space after spotting a job advert from NASA on the bulletin board at the University of California while studying for his Doctorate in 1977.

In addition to spending plenty of time in the classroom, Hawley had to learn to fly jets as he had never flown anything before.

He spent the bulk of his time with NASA as a flight engineer, sitting behind and between the commander and the pilot.

Hawley was also the prime robot arm operator and was tasked with lifting the Hubble telescope out of the payload bay and releasing it.

Given the cost of building the Hubble telescope, it was a huge responsibility – something Hawley says he found to be tremendously challenging.

“There’s no collision-avoidance software, so you have to be the collision avoidance person,” he said. “You don’t want to drive the telescope into the orbiter.

“We have displays that give us information about position and orientation, but primarily I was looking out of the window.”

Having enjoyed such a long association with NASA, Hawley has undoubtedly played a major part in how space research has developed over the past few decades.

He remains fiercely proud of his involvement with the Hubble and the legacy it will leave once Webb eventually succeeds it in space.

“Every year on the anniversary of the launch of the telescope, I send a note to my crewmates and maybe share with them a few of the recent Hubble discoveries,” he said.

“I tell them that we get to say we had a very small part in making this discovery happen. It’s something we think about all the time, even 31 years later.”

While the Webb telescope will push the boundaries of space even further, Hawley is a little frustrated that the Hubble’s era is coming to an end.

During a recent interview with Cosmosphere, Hawley said he would have liked NASA to have introduced something that took full advantage of the Hubble team’s vast experience.

“The James Webb will be fabulous but it doesn’t do what HST can do,” he said. “When HST can’t do it anymore we won’t have that capability.

“I guess my dream science mission would be HST 2.”

About the author 

Admin


{"email":"Email address invalid","url":"Website address invalid","required":"Required field missing"}