The Day Hubble Launched

I still remember it vividly, it was the morning of April 24th 1990. The launch took place just a few months after my wife and I were married so whenever I think about our anniversary it reminds me of how many years Hubble has been out there charting the universe.  We were lucky, we had VIP tickets; I still have the buttons and Hubble brochure they handed out as part of the VIP press kit. So, we got to watch from the VIP stands next to the Countdown clock at Cape Canaveral. If you rent the IMAX Hubble movie and look at the crowd on the stands you'll see us on the left side.

Space Shuttle Discovery launches Hubble on April 24, 1990

The Hubble mission wasn't the first Shuttle trip after the Challenger hiatus, but it was perhaps the most meaningful one since shuttles began flying after the investigation (the end of 1988). Even before Hubble went up there were high expectations as to what we would see once we put up a decent sized telescope in space - where all the light and various obstacles from earth's atmosphere would be bypassed. We probably never could have imagined the iconic images we were going to get back - images so stunning that it put the sci-fi shows of the day, like Star Trek the Next Generation, to shame.

The aptly named "Emerald Nebula," captured by Hubble

We had a sense that history was being made and we were right. Thusfar, mankind has only been able to venture as far as the moon in person and to the edge of our solar system with man-made devices - yet Hubble has allowed us to travel billions of light years through its lens. We've seen the light of early galaxies - as old as 13.2 billion years using the Extreme Deep Field technique.  Quite simply, the Hubble Telescope has redefined astronomy in our times.

What is fascinating to consider though is all the innovations that had to occur and continue to evolve during Hubble's tenure in order for this remarkable telescope to have succeeded; they include but are not limited to:

• The Space Shuttle itself - the pinnacle of space plane and rocket technology. Unfortunately, we actually gone backwards in regards to space travel itself. Hopefully this will change.
• The continuing evolution of software capable of managing the telescope and processing its imagery. 
• The ever-decreasing size of electronics and ever-increasing capability to process massive amounts of data. Just think of what your personal computer could do in 1990 and what it can do now. Luckily, we've been to update many of Hubble's components over the years (5 different serving missions) both extending its useful life and its capabilities.
• Advances in optics - while the mirrors and sensors first deployed were the best, most precise ever created - they still exhibited minor flaws which were corrected in later servicing missions.

The Hubble Space Telescope is the most complex telescope ever devised - so far...

I count myself as very fortunate to have lived in not one but three "Communities of Innovation" in my lifetime. The old definition for this was associated with actual physical communities - the ones I'm referring to are Dayton, Ohio; Brevard County Florida and Silicon Valley California. We will talk about communities of innovation at length here on Technovation Talks in future posts and presentations.

Today of course, Communities of Innovation are becoming more virtual in nature. However there is something very tangible and exciting about living in a place where innovation happens every day.  Being in Silicon Valley during the dot.com boom and bust was a real roller coaster ride - but it was exciting. And I can tell you from personal experience there is nothing that will ever compare to stepping out on your front porch and watching the Space Shuttle lift off into the upper atmosphere. We took our son to see the last Shuttle launch last Summer. It was a bittersweet moment, one that made me recall the day my wife and I watched Hubble shoot skyward - forever changing mankind's vision of what our universe is...

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