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Hubble Celebrates Its 19th Anniversary with a "Fountain of Youth"
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By NASA
4 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
A crane lowers the steel reflector framework for Deep Space Station 23 into position Dec. 18 on a 65-foot-high (20-meter) platform above the antenna’s pedestal that will steer the reflector. Panels will be affixed to the structure create a curved surface to collect radio frequency signals.NASA/JPL-Caltech After the steel framework of the Deep Space Station 23 reflector dish was lowered into place on Dec. 18, a crew installed the quadripod, a four-legged support structure that will direct radio frequency signals from deep space that bounce off the main reflector into the antenna’s receiver.NASA/JPL-Caltech Deep Space Station 23’s 133-ton reflector dish was recently installed, marking a key step in strengthening NASA’s Deep Space Network.
NASA’s Deep Space Network, an array of giant radio antennas, allows agency missions to track, send commands to, and receive scientific data from spacecraft venturing to the Moon and beyond. NASA is adding a new antenna, bringing the total to 15, to support increased demand for the world’s largest and most sensitive radio frequency telecommunication system.
Installation of the latest antenna took place on Dec. 18, when teams at NASA’s Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex near Barstow, California, installed the metal reflector framework for Deep Space Station 23, a multifrequency beam-waveguide antenna. When operational in 2026, Deep Space Station 23 will receive transmissions from missions such as Perseverance, Psyche, Europa Clipper, Voyager 1, and a growing fleet of future human and robotic spacecraft in deep space.
“This addition to the Deep Space Network represents a crucial communication upgrade for the agency,” said Kevin Coggins, deputy associate administrator of NASA’s SCaN (Space Communications and Navigation) program. “The communications infrastructure has been in continuous operation since its creation in 1963, and with this upgrade we are ensuring NASA is ready to support the growing number of missions exploring the Moon, Mars, and beyond.”
This time-lapse video shows the entire day of construction activities for the Deep Space Station 23 antenna at the NASA Deep Space Network’s Goldstone Space Communications Complex near Barstow, California, on Dec. 18. NASA/JPL-Caltech Construction of the new antenna has been under way for more than four years, and during the installation, teams used a crawler crane to lower the 133-ton metal skeleton of the 112-foot-wide (34-meter-wide) parabolic reflector before it was bolted to a 65-foot-high (20-meter-high) alidade, a platform above the antenna’s pedestal that will steer the reflector during operations.
“One of the biggest challenges facing us during the lift was to ensure that 40 bolt-holes were perfectly aligned between the structure and alidade,” said Germaine Aziz, systems engineer, Deep Space Network Aperture Enhancement Program of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. “This required a meticulous emphasis on alignment prior to the lift to guarantee everything went smoothly on the day.”
Following the main lift, engineers carried out a lighter lift to place a quadripod, a four-legged support structure weighing 16 1/2 tons, onto the center of the upward-facing reflector. The quadripod features a curved subreflector that will direct radio frequency signals from deep space that bounce off the main reflector into the antenna’s pedestal, where the antenna’s receivers are housed.
In the early morning of Dec. 18, a crane looms over the 112-foot-wide (34-meter-wide) steel framework for Deep Space Station 23 reflector dish, which will soon be lowered into position on the antenna’s base structure.NASA/JPL-Caltech Engineers will now work to fit panels onto the steel skeleton to create a curved surface to reflect radio frequency signals. Once complete, Deep Space Station 23 will be the fifth of six new beam-waveguide antennas to join the network, following Deep Space Station 53, which was added at the Deep Space Network’s Madrid complex in 2022.
“With the Deep Space Network, we are able to explore the Martian landscape with our rovers, see the James Webb Space Telescope’s stunning cosmic observations, and so much more,” said Laurie Leshin, director of JPL. “The network enables over 40 deep space missions, including the farthest human-made objects in the universe, Voyager 1 and 2. With upgrades like these, the network will continue to support humanity’s exploration of our solar system and beyond, enabling groundbreaking science and discovery far into the future.”
NASA’s Deep Space Network is managed by JPL, with the oversight of NASA’s SCaN Program. More than 100 NASA and non-NASA missions rely on the Deep Space Network and Near Space Network, including supporting astronauts aboard the International Space Station and future Artemis missions, monitoring Earth’s weather and the effects of climate change, supporting lunar exploration, and uncovering the solar system and beyond.
For more information about the Deep Space Network, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/communicating-with-missions/dsn
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Ian J. O’Neill
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-354-2649
ian.j.oneill@jpl.nasa.gov
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Last Updated Dec 20, 2024 Related Terms
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By NASA
5 Min Read NASA’s Ames Research Center Celebrates 85 Years of Innovation
The NACA Ames laboratory in 1944 Credits: NASA Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley pre-dates a lot of things. The center existed before NASA – the very space and aeronautics agency it’s a critical part of today. And of all the marvelous advancements in science and technology that have fundamentally changed our lives over the last 85 years since its founding, one aspect has remained steadfast; an enduring commitment to what’s known by some on-center simply as, “an atmosphere of freedom.”
Years before breaking ground at the site that would one day become home to the world’s preeminent wind tunnels, supercomputers, simulators, and brightest minds solving some of the world’s toughest challenges, Joseph Sweetman Ames, the center’s namesake, described a sentiment that would guide decades of innovation and research:
My hope is that you have learned or are learning a love of freedom of thought and are convinced that life is worthwhile only in such an atmosphere
Joseph sweetman ames
Founding member of the N.A.C.A.
“My hope is that you have learned or are learning a love of freedom of thought and are convinced that life is worthwhile only in such an atmosphere,” he said in an address to the graduates of Johns Hopkins University in June 1935.
That spirit and the people it attracted and retained are a crucial part of how Ames, along with other N.A.C.A. research centers, ultimately made technological breakthroughs that enabled humanity’s first steps on the Moon, the safe return of spacecraft through Earth’s atmosphere, and many other discoveries that benefit our day-to-day lives.
Russell Robinson momentarily looks to the camera while supervising the first excavation at what would become Ames Research Center.NACA “In the context of my work, an atmosphere of freedom means the freedom to pursue high-risk, high-reward, innovative ideas that may take time to fully develop and — most importantly — the opportunity to put them into practice for the benefit of all,” said Edward Balaban, a researcher at Ames specializing in artificial intelligence, robotics, and advanced mission concepts.
Balaban’s career at Ames has involved a variety of projects at different stages of development – from early concept to flight-ready – including experimenting with different ways to create super-sized space telescopes in space and using artificial intelligence to help guide the path a rover might take to maximize off-world science results. Like many Ames researchers over the years, Balaban shared that his experience has involved deep collaborations across science and engineering disciplines with colleagues all over the center, as well as commercial and academic partners in Silicon Valley where Ames is nestled and beyond. This is a tradition that runs deep at Ames and has helped lead to entirely new fields of study and seeded many companies and spinoffs.
Before NASA, Before Silicon Valley: The 1939 Founding of Ames Aeronautical Laboratory “In the fields of aeronautics and space exploration the cost of entry can be quite high. For commercial enterprises and universities pursuing longer term ideas and putting them into practice often means partnering up with an organization such as NASA that has the scale and multi-disciplinary expertise to mature these ideas for real-world applications,” added Balaban.
“Certainly, the topics of inquiry, the academic freedom, and the benefit to the public good are what has kept me at Ames,” reflected Ross Beyer, a planetary scientist with the SETI Institute at Ames. “There’s not a lot of commercial incentive to study other planets, for example, but maybe there will be soon. In the meantime, only with government funding and agencies like NASA can we develop missions to explore the unknown in order to make important fundamental science discoveries and broadly share them.”
For Beyer, his boundary-breaking moment came when he searched – and found – software engineers at Ames capable and passionate about open-source software to generate accurate, high-resolution, texture-mapped, 3D terrain models from stereo image pairs. He and other teams of NASA scientists have since applied that software to study and better understand everything from changes in snow and ice characteristics on Earth, as well as features like craters, mountains, and caves on Mars or the Moon. This capability is part of the Artemis campaign, through which NASA will establish a long-term presence at the Moon for scientific exploration with commercial and international partners. The mission is to learn how to live and work away from home, promote the peaceful use of space, and prepare for future human exploration of Mars.
“As NASA and private companies send missions to the Moon, they need to plan landing sites and understand the local environment, and our software is freely available for anyone to use,” Beyer said. “Years ago, our management could easily have said ‘No, let’s keep this software to ourselves; it gives us a competitive advantage.’ They didn’t, and I believe that NASA writ large allows you to work on things and share those things and not hold them back.”
When looking forward to what the next 85 years might bring, researchers shared a belief that advancements in technology and opportunities to innovate are as expansive as space itself, but like all living things, they need a healthy atmosphere to thrive. Balaban offered, “This freedom to innovate is precious and cannot be taken for granted. It can easily fall victim if left unprotected. It is absolutely critical to retain it going forward, to ensure our nation’s continuing vitality and the strength of the other freedoms we enjoy.”
Ames Aeronautical Laboratory.NACAView the full article
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By NASA
“Trying to do stellar observations from Earth is like trying to do birdwatching from the bottom of a lake.” James B. Odom, Hubble Program Manager 1983-1990.
The third servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope, placed in orbit in 1990, occurred during the STS-103 mission in December 1999. During the mission, originally planned for June 2000 but accelerated by six months following unexpected failures of the telescope’s attitude control gyroscopes, the astronauts restored the facility to full functionality. During their eight-day mission that featured the first space shuttle crew to spend Christmas in space, the seven-member U.S. and European crew rendezvoused with and captured Hubble, and four astronauts in rotating teams of two conducted three lengthy and complex spacewalks to service and upgrade the telescope. They redeployed the telescope with greater capabilities than ever before to continue its mission to help scientists unlock the secrets of the universe.
Schematic showing the Hubble Space Telescope’s major components. Workers inspect the Hubble Space Telescope’s 94-inch diameter primary mirror prior to assembly. Astronauts release the Hubble Space Telescope in April 1990 during the STS-31 mission. The discovery after the Hubble Space Telescope’s launch in 1990 that its primary mirror suffered from a flaw called spherical aberration disappointed scientists who could not obtain the sharp images they had expected. But thanks to the Hubble’s built-in feature of on-orbit servicing, NASA devised a plan to correct the telescope’s optics during the first planned repair mission in 1993. A second servicing mission in 1997 upgraded the telescope’s capabilities until the next mission planned for three years later. But after three of the telescope’s six gyroscopes failed in 1997, 1998, and 1999, mission rules dictated a call up mission in case additional gyroscope failures sent Hubble into a safe mode. NASA elected to move up some of the servicing tasks from the third mission, splitting it into missions 3A and 3B, planning to fly 3A in October 1999 on Discovery’s STS-103 mission primarily to replace the failed gyroscopes. Delays to the shuttle fleet resulting from anomalies during the launch of STS-93 in July 1993 slipped STS-103 first into November and ultimately into December. Technical issues with Discovery itself pushed the launch date to mid-December, and raised concerns about having a shuttle in orbit during the Y2K transition. Once the launch had slipped to Dec. 19, mission planners cut the mission from 10 to eight days, deleting one of the four spacewalks, to ensure a return before the end of the calendar year. The servicing mission couldn’t come soon enough, as a fourth gyroscope failed aboard Hubble in mid-November, with Discovery already poised on the launch pad to prepare for STS-103. Controllers placed Hubble in a safe mode until the astronauts arrived.
The STS-103 crew of C. Michael Foale, left, Claude Nicollier, Scott J. Kelly, Curtis L. Brown, Jean-François A. Clervoy, John M. Grunsfeld, and Steven L. Smith. The STS-103 crew patch. The mission patch for the Hubble Servicing Mission-3A. To execute the third Hubble Servicing Mission, in July 1998 NASA selected an experienced four-person team to carry out a record-breaking six spacewalks on the flight then planned for June 2000. The spacewalkers included Mission Specialists Steven L. Smith serving as payload commander, John M. Grunsfeld, C. Michael Foale, and European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Claude Nicollier from Switzerland. The addition in March 1999 of Commander Curtis L. Brown, Pilot Scott J. Kelly, and Mission Specialist ESA astronaut Jean-François A. Clervoy of France rounded out the highly experienced crew with 18 previous spaceflights among them. Brown earned the distinction as only the fifth person to fly in space six times. For Kelly, STS-103 marked his first spaceflight. Smith, Clervoy, and Grunsfeld each had flown two previous missions, Foale four including a long-duration mission aboard Mir, and Nicollier three. Smith participated in three spacewalks during the second Hubble Servicing Mission and Nicollier served as the Remote Manipulator System (RMS) or robotic arm operator during the first.
The STS-103 crew at the traditional prelaunch breakfast at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Suited up, the STS-103 astronauts leave crew quarters for the trip to Launch Pad 39B. Space shuttle Discovery on Launch Pad 39B, awaiting launch. Discovery arrived back to KSC at the end of the STS-96 mission on June 6, 1999, and workers towed it to the Orbiter Processing Facility the same day to begin readying it for STS-103. The vehicle rolled over to the Vehicle Assembly Building on Nov. 4, where workers mated it with its external tank and twin solid rocket boosters, before rolling the stack out to Launch Pad 39B on Nov. 13.
Liftoff of space shuttle Discovery on the STS-103 Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission 3A. The Hubble Space Telescope as Discovery approaches. The STS-103 crew berthing the Hubble into the payload bay. Beginning its 27th trip into space, Discovery lifted off from Launch Pad 39B at 7:50 p.m. EST on Dec. 19 to fix the ailing space telescope. Two days later, Brown and Kelly maneuvered Discovery to within range of Hubble so Clervoy operating the 50-foot-long RMS could grapple the telescope and berth it into the payload bay.
During the first spacewalk, astronauts John M. Grunsfeld, left, and Steven L. Smith replacing one of the Rate Sensor Units containing two gyroscopes. Smith gives a thumbs up with his image reflected in the Hubble Space Telescope. Smith and Grunsfeld conducted the mission’s first spacewalk on Dec. 22, the flight’s fourth day in space. The duo, aided by Clervoy operating the RMS from inside Discovery, completed two of mission’s highest priority objectives. They replaced the failed gyroscopes, installing three new Rate Sensor Units, each containing two gyroscopes, to return control to the ailing telescope. They also installed six Voltage/Temperature Improvement Kits to prevent the telescope’s batteries from overheating as they aged. The excursion lasted eight hours 15 minutes, at the time the second longest spacewalk.
During the second spacewalk, astronauts C. Michael Foale, left, and Claude Nicollier during the changeout of the fine guidance sensor. Foale at the end of the Remote Manipulator System services the Hubble Space Telescope. The next day, Nicollier and Foale conducted the mission’s second spacewalk. The main task for this excursion involved installing a new computer aboard Hubble, replacing the original 1970s vintage unit. The new radiation-hardened system ran 20 times faster and carried six times more memory while using one-third the electrical power. They also installed a fine guidance sensor before concluding the eight-hour 10-minute spacewalk.
Astronauts Steven L. Smith, left, and John M. Grunsfeld begin their servicing activities during the third spacewalk. At the end of the third and final spacewalk, Grunsfeld, left, and Smith provide closing comments about the work the mission accomplished to service the Hubble Space Telescope. Smith and Grunsfeld ventured outside for a second time to complete the flight’s third and final spacewalk on Dec. 24, the first spacewalk conducted on Christmas Eve day. First, they replaced an old reel-to-reel tape recorder with a solid state unit providing a 10-fold increase in recording capability and replaced a failed data transmitter. They installed seven new covers on Hubble’s electronics bay doors for added protection of the telescope’s insulation. This third spacewalk lasted eight hours eight minutes.
The first space shuttle crew to celebrate Christmas in space, the STS-103 astronauts pose wearing Santa hats. The Hubble Space Telescope shortly after the STS-103 crew released it. The next day, the STS-103 astronauts earned the distinction as the first space shuttle crew to spend Christmas Day in space. Clervoy grappled Hubble, lifted it out of the payload bay and released it to continue its mission. Hubble Space Telescope Program Manager John H. Campbell said after the release, “The spacecraft is being guided by its new gyros under the control of its brand new computer. [It] is now orbiting freely and is in fantastic shape.” After deploying Hubble, the astronauts enjoyed a well-deserved Christmas dinner, with Clervoy providing French delicacies. The crew spent Dec. 26 readying Discovery for its return to Earth, including testing its reaction control system thrusters and aerodynamic surfaces and stowing unneeded gear.
Astronauts Steven L. Smith, left, Claude Nicollier, and John M. Grunsfeld complete their fluid loading protocol and put on their launch and entry suits prior to reentry. Space shuttle Discovery makes a perfect night landing at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The crew welcome home ceremony at Ellington Field in Houston. On Dec. 27, the astronauts donned their launch and entry suits and prepared for the return to Earth. They closed the payload bay doors and fired Discovery’s engines to bring them out of orbit. Just before landing, Kelly lowered the craft’s landing gear and Brown guided Discovery to a smooth night landing at KSC, concluding a flight of seven days, 23 hours, 11 minutes. They circled the Earth 119 times. The flight marked Discovery’s last solo flight as all its subsequent missions docked with the International Space Station. Workers at KSC began readying it for its next mission, STS-92 in October 2000.
The Hubble Space Telescope continues to operate today, far exceeding the five-year life extension expected from the last of the servicing missions in 2009. Joined in space by the James Webb Space Telescope in 2021, the two instruments together continue to image the skies across a broad range of the electromagnetic spectrum to provide scientists with the tools to gain unprecedented insights into the universe and its formation.
Watch the STS-103 crew narrate a video of their Hubble servicing mission.
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By NASA
Hubble Space Telescope Hubble Home Overview About Hubble The History of Hubble Hubble Timeline Why Have a Telescope in Space? Hubble by the Numbers At the Museum FAQs Impact & Benefits Hubble’s Impact & Benefits Science Impacts Cultural Impact Technology Benefits Impact on Human Spaceflight Astro Community Impacts Science Hubble Science Science Themes Science Highlights Science Behind Discoveries Hubble’s Partners in Science Universe Uncovered Explore the Night Sky Observatory Hubble Observatory Hubble Design Mission Operations Missions to Hubble Hubble vs Webb Team Hubble Team Career Aspirations Hubble Astronauts News Hubble News Hubble News Archive Social Media Media Resources Multimedia Multimedia Images Videos Sonifications Podcasts E-books Online Activities Lithographs Fact Sheets Glossary Posters Hubble on the NASA App More 35th Anniversary 2 min read
Hubble Spies a Cosmic Eye
This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features the spiral galaxy NGC 2566. ESA/Hubble & NASA, D. Thilker This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features the spiral galaxy NGC 2566, which sits 76 million light-years away in the constellation Puppis. A prominent bar of stars stretches across the center of this galaxy, and spiral arms emerge from each end of the bar. Because NGC 2566 appears tilted from our perspective, its disk takes on an almond shape, giving the galaxy the appearance of a cosmic eye.
As NGC 2566 appears to gaze at us, astronomers gaze right back, using Hubble to survey the galaxy’s star clusters and star-forming regions. The Hubble data are especially valuable for studying stars that are just a few million years old; these stars are bright at the ultraviolet and visible wavelengths to which Hubble is sensitive. Using these data, researchers can measure the ages of NGC 2566’s stars, which helps piece together the timeline of the galaxy’s star formation and the exchange of gas between star-forming clouds and the stars themselves.
Hubble regularly teams up with other astronomical observatories to examine objects like NGC 2566, including the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope. Webb data complements Hubble’s by going beyond the infrared wavelengths of light Hubble can see, better defining areas of warm, glowing dust. At even longer wavelengths, the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) of 66 radio telescopes that work together can capture detailed images of the clouds of gas and dust in which stars form. Together, Hubble, Webb, and ALMA provide an overview of the formation, lives, and deaths of stars in galaxies across the universe.
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Claire Andreoli (claire.andreoli@nasa.gov)
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD
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Last Updated Dec 19, 2024 Editor Andrea Gianopoulos Location NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Related Terms
Astrophysics Astrophysics Division Galaxies Goddard Space Flight Center Hubble Space Telescope Spiral Galaxies Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA
Hubble Space Telescope
Since its 1990 launch, the Hubble Space Telescope has changed our fundamental understanding of the universe.
Hubble’s Partners in Science
Hubble’s Night Sky Challenge
Hubble’s Galaxies
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By NASA
1 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
NASA’s Office of Technology, Policy, and Strategy, shares highlights from the office in 2024, including key accomplishments and collaborations that support the NASA mission. Read the full report, NASA’s Office of Technology, Policy, and Strategy: A Year in Review 2024
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Last Updated Dec 18, 2024 EditorBill Keeter Related Terms
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