I hate to admit it, but I didn’t grow up a space geek. It was after joining Lockheed Martin Space that I became one, as I have witnessed and learned from the passionate team. So now, as we approach the 30th anniversary celebration of the Hubble Space Telescope, I am excited to share some of what I have learned and highlight many of Hubble's and the team’s accomplishments.
In 1977, Lockheed Martin was selected by NASA to design and build Hubble and provide spacecraft systems integration. Since its launch in 1990, Lockheed Martin employees have helped NASA manage daily operations of the telescope and provided training for service missions.
Understanding galaxies
The thing about space is … it’s really big. From Earth, we can’t see even a small portion of our universe. Hubble, however, has made more than 1.4 million observations of galaxies and planets otherwise invisible to us. Many of these observations have radically changed how we study astronomy and astrophysics. Hubble’s ability to see clarity in distant images — combined with the fact that it has observed deep space for more than three decades — has allowed us to perform investigations of phenomenon we never dreamed possible.
The heart of Hubble
For example, the Hubble Ultra-Deep Field (HUDF) is a snapshot of nearly 10,000 galaxies. HUDF looks back 13 billion years to see what existed in the universe at that time. It has influenced our understanding of how galaxies were first formed and the conditions which allowed for life on Earth. The Hubble eXtreme Deep Field (XDF) reveals galaxies that span back 13.2 billion years, giving us insight into how our universe has changed over time. Hubble also continues to find exoplanets (planets revolving around other stars), and its observations led to the discovery of water vapor on K2-18b, which indicates a climate that could potentially sustain life.
We can’t underestimate the importance of the technology developed for Hubble, or the people who designed and continue to operate it. For Hubble to ensure scientifically relevant observations, the telescope’s hardware and software must perform flawlessly — while also operating in the extreme environment of space. The process of observing deep space phenomena includes locating and locking onto star guides and subsequently tracking them with extreme precision. This is done by using a combination of gyroscopes and three unique instruments called the fine guidance sensors (FGS).
The gyroscopes are the heart of Hubble. Combined with the ability of the FSG to track star guides, the gyros allow Hubble to perform scientific observations. After Hubble’s final servicing mission in 2009, there were six functioning gyroscopes, but today there are only three. Of those, one is impacting Hubble’s ability to maintain pointing stability. The Hubble team at Lockheed Martin, in partnership with our customer at Goddard Space Flight Center, developed a software fix for this anomaly and is finding ways to minimize impact. We know challenges like this will continue to arise, which is why the team also created operating modes to figure out novel ways to schedule the science observations using the sensors available.
Understanding our world
You don’t have to be a space geek to appreciate Hubble’s images. They are beautiful, awe-inspiring and thought-provoking. Not only have Hubble’s observations provided us a deeper understanding of what is — or rather what once was — in the universe, it has also given us a better understanding of how Earth was created. Hubble’s images inspire people to look at the opportunities that lie ahead of us — what we can explore and what we can find in space.
We’ve also learned the telescope’s most versatile capability is a result of the operations team behind it, so I'd like to end this piece by recognizing and thanking them. The ability to change and adapt to new circumstances and new ideas of how to best utilize the telescope’s resources are what makes Hubble more than a simple observation device. Hubble could not be the iconic instrument it is, if not for the incredible people who keep it running.
