![]() "This was one where I truly felt like I had gone beyond human spaceflight, and our crew had gone beyond human spaceflight, to enable great science."Ĭovey retired from NASA eight months after the STS-61 mission. "When I got back, I think I called it a 'noble mission,' and I truly believe that," he said. "I saw us doing what NASA should do: unbelievably good teamwork," he added.Ĭovey commanded the STS-61 mission, and spoke with pride about the work done during the flight. Musgrave called the STS-61 crew "the greatest group that ever flew." As an astronomer and an astronaut, to put one's own hands on the Hubble Space Telescope in space is a real thrill." "It was a true privilege to live with Hubble for a week up there, especially - I have to say - for myself, being trained as an astronomer. "It's such a beautiful instrument," Hoffman said. The team reminisced about the flight and the legacy of the Hubble Space Telescope. Last month's "Rescuing Hubble"event reunited five of the STS-61 astronauts and members of NASA's mission control, many of whom had not spent time together as a group since the 1993 mission. "But still, there was a lot of 'them' and 'us.' This mission bridged that gap in a way that I had not seen before in the space-shuttle program." "In my mind, there's the human spaceflight program, and there's the space science stuff - and occasionally, they had to deal with each other because the science guys needed a ride, or there were some shuttle missions that were dedicated to science," Covey said. Hubble also played an important role in connecting the sometimes-separate worlds of human space exploration and scientific study, Covey said. Hubble's observations have enabled scientists to peer deep into space, and the telescope's observations have led to breakthroughs in astronomy and astrophysics, such as determining the rate of the universe's expansion, and characterizing the atmospheres of alien planets. Since 1993, the Hubble Space Telescope has become one of the most extraordinary and beloved space science missions, and has provided some of the most memorable images of the cosmos, including the iconic " Pillars of Creation" photograph that revealed giant, wispy columns of gas and dust in the Eagle Nebula. ![]() (Image credit: NASA/ESA/STScI, Hester & Scowen (Arizona State University) ) The tallest pillar is around 4 light-years high. Taken in visible light using a combination of SII/H-alpha and OIII filters, it shows a part of the Eagle Nebula where new stars are forming. ![]() This 1995 Hubble Space Telescope image of the 'Pillars of Creation' is probably the most famous astronomical image of the 20th Century. ![]()
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