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Lift off of the Space Shuttle
Discovery
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00:00:06,273 --> 00:00:08,407
With the Hubble Space Telescope.
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00:00:11,479 --> 00:00:14,046
CAPCOM, we have a go
for release.
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00:00:17,485 --> 00:00:20,419
It may be the boldest experiment
ever undertaken in astronomy...
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00:00:30,464 --> 00:00:34,033
with a legacy
that will endure for centuries.
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00:00:39,774 --> 00:00:43,976
You have been awarded
the Nobel Prize in Physics.
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00:00:46,347 --> 00:00:50,649
The Hubble Space Telescope is
probably the most scientifically
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Productive instrument
in history.
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00:01:00,761 --> 00:01:04,063
This single tool...
the Hubble Space Telescope...
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00:01:09,103 --> 00:01:12,638
Has revealed the size
and age of the universe,
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00:01:16,043 --> 00:01:18,324
The birthplace of stars, and
the existence of black holes.
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00:01:20,081 --> 00:01:24,416
It's helped us find planets
like our own
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In far-off solar systems
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00:01:32,893 --> 00:01:35,060
And a mysterious force...
Dark energy...
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That makes up about 70%
of the universe.
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00:01:46,874 --> 00:01:49,975
The Hubble Space Telescope
has completely changed the way
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00:02:11,532 --> 00:02:14,500
That we as scientists
understand the universe.
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00:02:25,813 --> 00:02:27,893
The story of Hubble
is a story of discovery.
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00:02:30,918 --> 00:02:33,352
It's also the story
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00:02:44,198 --> 00:02:49,168
Of one of the biggest blunders
in the history of science.
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This is the moment we find out
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That we are doomed to failure.
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00:03:13,894 --> 00:03:17,029
Is it possible that you could
bring the telescope back?
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00:03:21,869 --> 00:03:24,336
And of the genius and courage
that saved the day.
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The moment of truth is coming.
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You can't run from it anymore,
it's coming, there it is.
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Now, on Hubble's
25th anniversary,
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NOVA tells the remarkable tale
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Of how this magnificent machine
was built,
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How it has solved some of our
most enduring mysteries,
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And how it is showing us
a universe
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As beautiful
as it is astonishing.
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"Invisible Universe Revealed"...
Right now on NOVA.
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Major funding for NOVA is
provided by the following:
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At Cance NOVA and promoting
public understanding of science.
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And the Corporation
for Public Broadcasting.
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00:05:07,574 --> 00:05:12,110
And by:
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And Millicent Bell through:
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Since the dawn of humanity,
we've looked to the heavens
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00:05:33,967 --> 00:05:40,038
And wondered,
how old is the universe?
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00:05:45,512 --> 00:05:49,748
How many stars are there
in the sky?
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00:05:58,659 --> 00:06:02,928
Are there other planets
out there like our own?
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00:06:06,900 --> 00:06:09,901
But in the last 25 years,
there's been a revolution...
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All because of a machine
called Hubble.
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00:06:19,580 --> 00:06:22,347
Traveling in space,
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High above the distortions
of our atmosphere,
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Gives this giant telescope
great power.
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00:06:41,668 --> 00:06:44,836
It's the size of a school bus.
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It's traveling
at 17,000 miles an hour.
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It's 300-and-something miles
above your head.
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00:07:06,527 --> 00:07:08,627
But in there is one of the most
precise mirrors
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00:07:16,470 --> 00:07:18,136
Mankind has ever built.
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Billions of times more sensitive
than our own eyes,
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The space telescope
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00:07:37,658 --> 00:07:39,925
Has literally brought
the universe to us,
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Making more than a million
observations.
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00:07:51,738 --> 00:07:56,675
One legendary image is called
the "Pillars of Creation."
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00:08:01,348 --> 00:08:03,548
It's a giant plume of gas
and dust where stars are born.
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00:08:06,086 --> 00:08:08,854
Our own sun probably formed
in a place like this.
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The whole region is something
like 400 trillion miles,
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So it's massive, it's huge.
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00:08:23,203 --> 00:08:26,371
But still within the context
of our own Milky Way,
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It's just one little part.
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Hubble has also
captured pictures
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Of places where stars die.
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These are planetary nebulae...
Remnants of expiring stars.
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00:09:01,542 --> 00:09:03,875
They look like artworks
in the heavens.
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Each one of them is different,
like snowflakes.
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00:09:19,159 --> 00:09:23,428
And these are some
of the most spectacular images
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That Hubble has produced.
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Hubble has shown us that
black holes are real.
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A giant one sits
at the center of our galaxy
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00:09:48,822 --> 00:09:50,422
And nearly every other we know.
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00:09:52,693 --> 00:09:54,693
It's discovered
the age of the universe
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00:09:59,566 --> 00:10:01,533
And that there are more stars
in the heavens
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Than grains of sand
on all the beaches and deserts
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Of the world combined.
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Over the past 25 years,
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Hubble has told us a story
of creation, destruction,
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And of vast, new mysteries
that beckon our curiosity.
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00:10:36,436 --> 00:10:38,636
But putting it in space
long seemed an impossible dream,
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Even to those
who took on the challenge.
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I started out in optical
astronomy and spectroscopy.
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00:10:48,649 --> 00:10:50,982
But as a woman in my generation,
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I could not get tenure
at a research institution.
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In 1959, when NASA was formed,
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One of the men there asked me
if I knew anyone
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Who would like to set up
a program in space astronomy.
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00:11:14,508 --> 00:11:18,109
And I decided that the idea
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Of influencing astronomy
for 50 years
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Was just more than I could
resist, so I took the job.
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00:11:33,260 --> 00:11:37,128
Astronomer Nancy Roman is known
as the mother of the Hubble.
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She worked on its design and
development for nearly 25 years.
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If I brought anything to it,
it was perseverance
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And belief that it was possible.
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The idea of a space telescope
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Was first seriously proposed
in 1946
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By Princeton scientist
Lyman Spitzer.
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He was the scientific visionary,
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00:12:23,977 --> 00:12:26,177
And Roman was the force
that pushed this vision forward,
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Decades before the technology
was up to the task.
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Even into the mid-'60s,
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Just getting a rocket safely
into space was a challenge.
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00:12:51,972 --> 00:12:53,571
There were a lot of failures.
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00:12:55,542 --> 00:12:56,942
We were babies
learning how to walk.
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00:12:59,513 --> 00:13:03,448
And we didn't always succeed.
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00:13:05,152 --> 00:13:09,053
Babies fall down,
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And we did too.
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But however far-fetched
at the time,
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The lure of getting a telescope
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Above the distortion of the
earth's atmosphere was strong.
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The major challenge
facing astronomers
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Was the twinkle of the stars.
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Twinkling stars are an inspiring
source of poetry,
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But in terms of observing stars,
it's not very good.
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If you can imagine
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You're swimming on the bottom
of the swimming pool
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And you look up
and you see the distortion.
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It's like a fun house mirror.
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That's what it's like
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To study stars
from the surface of the Earth.
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The atmosphere is just like
that water in that pool.
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It sloshes around and moves
and distorts the image.
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00:14:55,595 --> 00:14:58,897
But when you come up out of
the water, everything's clear.
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That's exactly what happens
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When a telescope
gets above the atmosphere.
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In the pristine vacuum of space,
light can travel
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For billions of light years,
undisturbed.
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The atmosphere not only
distorts light,
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00:15:32,832 --> 00:15:36,067
It prevents some from reaching
the ground at all.
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00:15:39,005 --> 00:15:42,573
So for those reasons,
astronomers for a long time
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Were eager
to get something outside.
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And so I got a committee
together,
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00:16:00,527 --> 00:16:02,127
And that was the beginning
of the Hubble.
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00:16:04,397 --> 00:16:08,366
The space telescope
was named for Edwin Hubble,
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The great astronomer who did
much of his pioneering work
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In the 1920s at Mt. Wilson
Observatory in California.
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00:16:24,884 --> 00:16:26,985
In those days,
our own galaxy, the Milky Way,
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00:16:33,760 --> 00:16:36,961
Was considered the entirety
of the universe.
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00:16:38,465 --> 00:16:41,065
Nearly everyone, even Einstein,
believed the universe
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Had existed forever
in its present state...
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That it was eternal
and unchanging.
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But Hubble
would prove them all wrong.
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00:17:03,256 --> 00:17:06,190
He began by figuring out
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00:17:08,962 --> 00:17:10,962
How far away the stars
he was seeing actually were.
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00:17:13,066 --> 00:17:14,999
At the time of Edwin Hubble,
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It was hard
to measure distances.
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It still is even today.
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00:17:27,280 --> 00:17:31,149
It's difficult to know
if a star appears bright
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Because it is actually bright
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Or simply because
it is close to us.
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So Hubble searched
for a rare type of star
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Called a Cepheid variable.
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00:18:02,558 --> 00:18:04,959
Cepheids pulse
at a known brightness,
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00:18:08,264 --> 00:18:12,266
So by measuring the amount
of light he could see,
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00:18:15,304 --> 00:18:20,474
He could calculate how far away
the star actually was.
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00:18:23,045 --> 00:18:25,245
In October 1923,
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Hubble found a Cepheid
in a gaseous cluster of stars
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Then called
the Andromeda nebula.
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00:18:43,065 --> 00:18:45,766
It yielded a shocking discovery.
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When he actually did
the calculations,
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He discovered Andromeda
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Was roughly a million
light years away from us,
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Which is outside our galaxy.
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Andromeda was its own galaxy.
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Oh, there are other galaxies
out there,
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And we're just one of them.
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For the first time in history,
there was evidence
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00:19:37,887 --> 00:19:43,757
That our universe stretched
far beyond the Milky Way.
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00:19:48,130 --> 00:19:52,166
But then what he did was
he measured the speed
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Of a whole bunch
of these galaxies.
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Edwin Hubble measured speed
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00:20:08,718 --> 00:20:10,484
By looking at the light
the galaxies emitted.
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00:20:15,491 --> 00:20:18,125
He knew if the galaxy
was moving toward him,
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The waves would shorten
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And shift to the blue part
of the spectrum.
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If it was moving away,
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The waves would lengthen
and shift to the red.
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00:20:40,182 --> 00:20:42,516
Every distant galaxy
Hubble looked at,
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00:20:45,221 --> 00:20:47,187
He saw the light
from it being red-shifted,
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00:20:49,658 --> 00:20:51,978
Which meant everything is moving
away from everything else.
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And he found
the further away they were,
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The faster they were going.
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00:21:05,341 --> 00:21:09,910
In fact, the universe itself
was expanding,
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Stretching the light
from the galaxies.
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00:21:24,527 --> 00:21:28,362
Edwin Hubble had changed
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Our understanding
of the cosmos forever.
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The whole universe
was clearly expanding.
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00:21:55,891 --> 00:21:59,760
And so this was the discovery
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00:22:02,731 --> 00:22:08,802
Of the expansion
of the universe.
191
00:22:13,142 --> 00:22:15,776
You know, which Einstein said,
"Well, that's crazy, right?"
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00:22:18,047 --> 00:22:23,350
The discovery of the expansion
of the universe of course
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00:22:26,388 --> 00:22:28,428
Was a very strong piece
of evidence for a beginning.
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If everything is now expanding,
you can run this backwards
195
00:22:35,631 --> 00:22:38,899
And see that everything
should have started
196
00:22:43,105 --> 00:22:45,239
From a certain point
or singularity,
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00:22:49,178 --> 00:22:50,744
What we today call a Big Bang.
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00:22:55,618 --> 00:23:00,954
That was pretty radical
199
00:23:02,925 --> 00:23:04,845
And mind-blowing stuff
back in the '20s and '30s,
200
00:23:06,829 --> 00:23:09,229
And some people today
even find it mind-blowing.
201
00:23:09,231 --> 00:23:14,001
K
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00:23:14,003 --> 00:23:16,563
Hubble's discovery opened up
the modern era of astronomy
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00:23:17,873 --> 00:23:20,154
And raised huge questions,
like "How old is the universe?"
204
00:23:21,310 --> 00:23:23,430
But astronomers couldn't see
clearly and deeply enough
205
00:23:26,248 --> 00:23:28,782
Into the cosmos, so the mystery
would endure for decades.
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00:23:32,288 --> 00:23:34,968
Determining the age
of the universe
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00:23:42,531 --> 00:23:44,698
Was definitely
one of the key goals
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00:23:50,940 --> 00:23:52,660
Of the launch
of the Hubble Space Telescope.
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00:23:54,410 --> 00:23:58,111
Astronomers used to have
fistfights
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00:24:07,890 --> 00:24:12,993
Whether the universe
was ten billion years
211
00:24:18,100 --> 00:24:20,133
Or 20 billion years old
212
00:24:25,341 --> 00:24:28,375
Until we launched
the Hubble Telescope.
213
00:24:31,513 --> 00:24:33,393
But first,
they would have to build it.
214
00:24:36,118 --> 00:24:37,584
I realized that
215
00:24:39,922 --> 00:24:44,157
My job at NASA to a large extent
was salesmanship.
216
00:24:45,761 --> 00:24:47,921
And it was a particular problem
with Congress.
217
00:24:52,601 --> 00:24:55,369
We can cut the space program
sharply.
218
00:25:01,443 --> 00:25:08,382
Congress has already cut that
$400 million
219
00:25:10,786 --> 00:25:15,222
And I think we can cut it
a billion dollars,
220
00:25:19,428 --> 00:25:21,762
And we should cut it
a billion dollars.
221
00:25:24,800 --> 00:25:27,801
Proxmire was quite famous
as a senator
222
00:25:30,439 --> 00:25:33,407
Of picking out projects
that he thought were stupid.
223
00:25:37,813 --> 00:25:41,114
We have a war going on
in Vietnam.
224
00:25:43,485 --> 00:25:46,953
And he asked NASA
why the American taxpayer
225
00:25:49,058 --> 00:25:50,891
Should pay for something
like the Hubble.
226
00:25:54,997 --> 00:25:57,998
And I came up
with the answer that
227
00:25:59,802 --> 00:26:02,335
For the cost
of a night at the movies,
228
00:26:03,605 --> 00:26:05,845
Every American would have
15 years of exciting discovery.
229
00:26:07,309 --> 00:26:09,643
Finally, after more
than a decade,
230
00:26:11,447 --> 00:26:16,516
The plans were approved in 1977.
231
00:26:19,154 --> 00:26:21,755
Hubble's power would come
from an eight-foot wide mirror.
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00:26:29,998 --> 00:26:33,800
It would gather light
from across the universe.
233
00:26:37,439 --> 00:26:40,941
To magnify the sky
and see tiny details,
234
00:26:42,511 --> 00:26:44,391
It would need a long distance
to focus the light
235
00:26:45,781 --> 00:26:47,614
And give a clear image.
236
00:26:50,719 --> 00:26:54,988
But a space telescope
needs to be compact,
237
00:26:58,293 --> 00:27:00,093
So Hubble would use
a second mirror
238
00:27:04,967 --> 00:27:07,287
To further magnify the light
and focus it onto the cameras.
239
00:27:11,340 --> 00:27:14,541
For it to work, the mirrors
would have to be perfect.
240
00:27:19,848 --> 00:27:21,928
Hubble was the most precise
optical mirror ever made.
241
00:27:24,319 --> 00:27:30,490
No place along its surface
242
00:27:33,328 --> 00:27:35,996
Could have deviated
from a perfect curve
243
00:27:37,366 --> 00:27:40,066
By more than a millionth
of an inch.
244
00:27:42,571 --> 00:27:45,251
An optics company, Perkin-Elmer,
was chosen to do the work,
245
00:27:46,408 --> 00:27:48,888
In part because it had already
made mirrors for spy satellites.
246
00:27:52,314 --> 00:27:54,881
They told NASA,
247
00:27:57,019 --> 00:27:59,379
"We know how to do this, and
this technology is proprietary.
248
00:28:00,489 --> 00:28:02,088
"We are not going to let you
come in
249
00:28:08,163 --> 00:28:11,631
And watch what we are doing."
250
00:28:14,436 --> 00:28:17,804
So NASA got
a rather limited view
251
00:28:21,743 --> 00:28:26,980
Of what was going on
in that little group.
252
00:28:30,052 --> 00:28:32,892
They had very,
very precise instruments
253
00:28:40,495 --> 00:28:43,263
That they designed
just for polishing this mirror.
254
00:28:46,735 --> 00:28:49,603
They had to work at night
255
00:28:53,575 --> 00:28:55,455
So that the vibration of cars
in the parking lot
256
00:28:56,478 --> 00:28:58,712
Wouldn't cause problems
with the polishing equipment.
257
00:29:06,655 --> 00:29:12,158
They had to isolate it
and float it on a table
258
00:29:14,263 --> 00:29:17,364
So any vibrations from the
building wouldn't come in.
259
00:29:19,001 --> 00:29:21,835
And this program was
over budget, behind schedule.
260
00:29:24,573 --> 00:29:26,973
They were desperate to get
the telescope built and flown.
261
00:29:32,047 --> 00:29:35,682
Perkin-Elmer's own measurements
262
00:29:42,591 --> 00:29:46,159
Showed discrepancies
in the surface of the mirror,
263
00:29:47,663 --> 00:29:49,362
But this was never passed on
to NASA.
264
00:29:52,601 --> 00:29:55,635
The telescope was declared
ready for launch,
265
00:29:57,105 --> 00:30:00,573
A disaster waiting to happen.
266
00:30:30,105 --> 00:30:32,345
The hopes and dreams
of the world's astronomers
267
00:30:34,443 --> 00:30:36,810
Were with us that day
at Cape Canaveral.
268
00:30:41,416 --> 00:30:43,083
The last time astronomers
269
00:30:52,327 --> 00:30:56,162
Leapt a factor of ten
in observing capability
270
00:30:57,999 --> 00:31:01,267
Was when Galileo, in 1610,
instead of using his eye,
271
00:31:08,677 --> 00:31:12,912
Put the telescope
in front of his eye.
272
00:31:17,619 --> 00:31:20,887
And liftoff
of the Space Shuttle Discovery
273
00:31:24,526 --> 00:31:26,886
With the Hubble Space Telescope,
our window on the universe!
274
00:31:28,730 --> 00:31:32,132
All increases in capability
after Galileo were incremental.
275
00:31:37,939 --> 00:31:41,107
They weren't leaps of a factor
of ten, until Hubble.
276
00:31:44,646 --> 00:31:48,381
Mission Control, Houston.
277
00:31:50,485 --> 00:31:55,789
Roger all, Discovery.
278
00:31:58,226 --> 00:32:01,995
We thought, "Let's go,
we're off to the races!"
279
00:32:07,602 --> 00:32:11,004
Little did we know
the time bomb that was ticking.
280
00:32:13,074 --> 00:32:15,375
Little did we know.
281
00:32:24,019 --> 00:32:26,319
Discover Houston.
282
00:32:28,924 --> 00:32:32,058
You have a go to open the doors.
283
00:32:34,029 --> 00:32:36,469
After nearly 30 years
of planning, on April 25, 1990,
284
00:32:38,033 --> 00:32:40,767
Astronauts used a robotic arm
285
00:32:43,905 --> 00:32:45,665
To deploy the Hubble
space telescope in orbit
286
00:32:47,676 --> 00:32:50,176
380 miles above the earth.
287
00:32:56,051 --> 00:33:00,353
CAPCOM, we have a go
for release.
288
00:33:03,525 --> 00:33:07,594
We concur, Charlie.
289
00:33:12,968 --> 00:33:15,468
Mission control,
Houston confirms,
290
00:33:20,075 --> 00:33:24,878
The Hubble Space Telescope
is released.
291
00:33:34,923 --> 00:33:37,390
With the telescope
finally in place,
292
00:33:40,228 --> 00:33:42,729
Everyone was excited
to see what it could do.
293
00:33:44,866 --> 00:33:47,826
make final adjustments
before we get to see
294
00:33:53,441 --> 00:33:57,710
The clearest pictures ever seen
in the history of astronomy.
295
00:34:01,750 --> 00:34:05,184
Nose gear touch down.
296
00:34:12,360 --> 00:34:16,663
But when the first images
arrived,
297
00:34:19,734 --> 00:34:22,302
They weren't quite what
the scientists had expected.
298
00:34:25,106 --> 00:34:28,408
When they first saw these images
299
00:34:32,080 --> 00:34:35,582
They just assumed the telescope
wasn't in focus.
300
00:34:38,820 --> 00:34:41,421
They tried to move the focus
backwards and forwards,
301
00:34:48,129 --> 00:34:51,364
But the light kept being blurred
like it was always out of focus.
302
00:34:54,436 --> 00:34:56,235
It was really quite a shock.
303
00:35:01,376 --> 00:35:06,312
We were very worried.
304
00:35:08,183 --> 00:35:11,584
I just couldn't believe it.
305
00:35:21,062 --> 00:35:23,463
It definitely was a huge shock.
306
00:35:30,005 --> 00:35:33,206
We were supposed
to revolutionize astronomy.
307
00:35:36,945 --> 00:35:38,705
How is it that we can't focus
this telescope?
308
00:35:40,048 --> 00:35:41,814
How is this even possible?
309
00:35:45,220 --> 00:35:47,981
After weeks of investigation,
horrified astronomers suspected
310
00:35:49,524 --> 00:35:52,525
Something was wrong
with the mirror.
311
00:35:57,298 --> 00:35:59,778
This is my logbook that I kept
during the early days of Hubble.
312
00:36:02,537 --> 00:36:05,138
Daily, we went to meetings,
and we kept a record
313
00:36:06,941 --> 00:36:08,574
Of everything that
was happening.
314
00:36:10,445 --> 00:36:12,345
Here is a particularly
interesting day.
315
00:36:15,116 --> 00:36:18,284
We were told about the actuators
on the back of the mirror.
316
00:36:20,622 --> 00:36:22,822
The actuators might be able
to fix small errors
317
00:36:25,293 --> 00:36:27,574
In the surface of the mirror
by pushing and pulling on it,
318
00:36:29,497 --> 00:36:31,937
So this says, "One half wave
is 7 times the dynamic range,"
319
00:36:35,704 --> 00:36:39,405
Meaning the problem is seven
times worse than they could fix.
320
00:36:43,044 --> 00:36:45,812
And here's a little note
I wrote:
321
00:36:48,283 --> 00:36:51,651
"This is the moment we find out
that we are doomed to failure!"
322
00:36:59,594 --> 00:37:03,763
Sandra Faber and her colleagues
323
00:37:06,101 --> 00:37:07,834
Realized that the problem
was massive
324
00:37:10,038 --> 00:37:13,339
And lay at the very heart
of the telescope.
325
00:37:15,076 --> 00:37:16,476
The Hubble telescope
326
00:37:19,781 --> 00:37:21,701
Has a big primary mirror
that collects the light,
327
00:37:24,652 --> 00:37:27,754
And then there's
a secondary mirror
328
00:37:29,657 --> 00:37:32,225
Which reflects the light
back down to the detector.
329
00:37:34,462 --> 00:37:36,929
So if everything is working,
every zone of the primary mirror
330
00:37:39,033 --> 00:37:41,314
Should come to a focus
at exactly the same location.
331
00:37:45,540 --> 00:37:47,840
With a single focal point,
332
00:37:53,047 --> 00:37:57,784
A star would appear crisp
and bright.
333
00:37:59,788 --> 00:38:01,354
But this wasn't
what was happening.
334
00:38:03,191 --> 00:38:04,711
As I looked
at those star images,
335
00:38:06,094 --> 00:38:09,462
I could see that
the problem with Hubble
336
00:38:11,065 --> 00:38:14,033
Was the rays are coming
to a focus at different points.
337
00:38:17,672 --> 00:38:21,607
And that is the classic problem
called spherical aberration.
338
00:38:26,781 --> 00:38:29,582
This is the actual set of images
that my team presented
339
00:38:34,122 --> 00:38:36,082
That convinced people
of the spherical aberration.
340
00:38:38,960 --> 00:38:44,363
The top set of images
is simulated with software,
341
00:38:48,136 --> 00:38:50,837
The bottom is the actual images,
and the fact that they match
342
00:38:53,374 --> 00:38:56,742
Is what shows that we really
understood what was going on.
343
00:39:00,582 --> 00:39:04,083
That was the kiss of death.
344
00:39:07,055 --> 00:39:11,891
It was like
a bullet to the head.
345
00:39:14,095 --> 00:39:16,395
So I said, "Well,
what are we going to do?"
346
00:39:17,966 --> 00:39:20,566
Should we declare this telescope
to be junk and just end it?
347
00:39:22,804 --> 00:39:26,138
Can we use it
in its present form
348
00:39:27,542 --> 00:39:29,041
And get something out of it?
349
00:39:30,979 --> 00:39:34,280
Can we fix it?
350
00:39:36,351 --> 00:39:39,785
And all of those thoughts were
running through people's minds
351
00:39:41,256 --> 00:39:42,936
In those fateful days
after this discovery.
352
00:39:45,526 --> 00:39:49,829
Somehow, the mirror
had been polished too flat,
353
00:39:54,402 --> 00:39:57,770
And there might not be anything
anyone could do to fix it.
354
00:40:02,377 --> 00:40:04,644
It was probably early June
355
00:40:07,782 --> 00:40:09,982
When people starting saying
the "S" word...
356
00:40:14,656 --> 00:40:16,188
Spherical aberration.
357
00:40:18,493 --> 00:40:22,728
That lead up
to the infamous press conference
358
00:40:25,166 --> 00:40:27,500
That I'll never forget
as long as I live.
359
00:40:31,706 --> 00:40:34,240
What might have made
this happen?
360
00:40:37,512 --> 00:40:39,412
Do you know for sure that
that the aberration
361
00:40:41,582 --> 00:40:45,918
Is in the primary mirror,
the secondary mirror, both?
362
00:40:48,456 --> 00:40:50,756
Why wasn't it caught
on the ground?
363
00:40:53,962 --> 00:40:57,296
This was one of the most
expensive science projects
364
00:40:59,767 --> 00:41:02,568
That NASA had ever undertaken,
and it was a techno-turkey.
365
00:41:04,639 --> 00:41:06,799
Is it possible that you could
bring the telescope back?
366
00:41:11,012 --> 00:41:12,979
It was an absolute disaster.
367
00:41:15,383 --> 00:41:18,985
And so it became life and death
for NASA itself.
368
00:41:21,856 --> 00:41:24,056
It was the national joke.
369
00:41:26,861 --> 00:41:28,941
We went from being the heroes
of the universe
370
00:41:30,565 --> 00:41:33,099
To the Mr. Magoos,
371
00:41:34,669 --> 00:41:36,989
And being associated with the
telescope was difficult.
372
00:41:40,708 --> 00:41:44,176
A NASA board of inquiry searched
for clues to what went wrong.
373
00:41:47,982 --> 00:41:50,462
Inspecting every piece of every
tool used to polish the mirror,
374
00:41:53,521 --> 00:41:58,090
They found the smoking gun:
a few missing chips of paint.
375
00:42:00,428 --> 00:42:03,696
They had thrown off
the laser-guided measuring tool
376
00:42:06,501 --> 00:42:09,735
Used to shape the mirror.
377
00:42:14,108 --> 00:42:18,644
Everything was off
about a millimeter.
378
00:42:23,117 --> 00:42:25,597
And so they polished the edges
of the mirror a little too flat,
379
00:42:29,824 --> 00:42:33,492
About 1/50th of the thickness
of a human hair.
380
00:42:36,464 --> 00:42:40,900
Many feared this meant
Hubble was dead,
381
00:42:44,839 --> 00:42:49,475
Since the mirror
was hard to access
382
00:42:54,682 --> 00:42:58,951
And impossible to remove
in space.
383
00:43:00,922 --> 00:43:03,689
Sandra Faber was on the panel
tasked with finding a solution.
384
00:43:06,761 --> 00:43:08,281
A blue ribbon committee
convened.
385
00:43:09,797 --> 00:43:11,263
People were thinking
about everything
386
00:43:14,702 --> 00:43:18,170
From bringing the telescope down
387
00:43:20,708 --> 00:43:22,668
To having astronauts
go up in orbit
388
00:43:27,982 --> 00:43:31,016
And swim down into the tube
389
00:43:34,088 --> 00:43:36,488
And install correcting optics
in front of the primary mirror.
390
00:43:40,194 --> 00:43:43,329
I called the report, jokingly,
391
00:43:45,066 --> 00:43:46,832
"50 bad ways
to fix a space telescope."
392
00:43:48,936 --> 00:43:51,971
The best idea was to put
small corrective mirrors
393
00:43:54,108 --> 00:43:55,908
In front of the cameras
and other instruments.
394
00:43:59,113 --> 00:44:04,483
But the problem was getting the
mirrors inside the telescope.
395
00:44:08,789 --> 00:44:11,590
Jim Crocker was an engineer
in charge of Hubble operations.
396
00:44:14,462 --> 00:44:17,563
We got to the point
where it's like,
397
00:44:19,367 --> 00:44:21,500
"We're kind of running
out of ideas here
398
00:44:24,672 --> 00:44:28,908
"and not sure what to do.
399
00:44:30,811 --> 00:44:34,480
"There's a lot of ways
to fix this,
400
00:44:38,986 --> 00:44:41,320
There's just no way
to perform them in space."
401
00:44:49,297 --> 00:44:51,997
I actually came back
from the meeting
402
00:44:55,536 --> 00:45:00,139
And went back to the hotel
that we were staying at
403
00:45:02,476 --> 00:45:07,012
And I thought,
404
00:45:10,785 --> 00:45:14,553
"Well, I'll take a shower
before we go out to dinner."
405
00:45:17,792 --> 00:45:20,159
The showerhead
is on a sliding rod,
406
00:45:24,298 --> 00:45:26,498
And the head goes up and down.
407
00:45:33,541 --> 00:45:35,975
And so I turned the water on
and I slid it up,
408
00:45:38,913 --> 00:45:43,616
And then it was like it clicked.
409
00:45:47,622 --> 00:45:50,923
If we packaged the mirrors
into a little robotic arm
410
00:45:55,363 --> 00:45:57,162
And we put that arm
into a new instrument,
411
00:46:00,768 --> 00:46:03,402
You could raise this mirror up
and flip the little mirrors out
412
00:46:09,010 --> 00:46:11,543
In front of each
of the other instruments
413
00:46:14,415 --> 00:46:16,115
And correct them all.
414
00:46:20,554 --> 00:46:23,122
And I thought,
"Huh, that'll work."
415
00:46:26,494 --> 00:46:28,454
NASA agreed
and immediately started work.
416
00:46:29,897 --> 00:46:32,798
Astronauts would install
an instrument called Costar.
417
00:46:34,068 --> 00:46:35,868
Once in place,
its four arms would flip out,
418
00:46:40,474 --> 00:46:42,808
Like the showerhead,
419
00:46:47,548 --> 00:46:49,315
And essentially give Hubble
glasses.
420
00:46:51,118 --> 00:46:53,018
But no one
had ever done anything
421
00:46:56,090 --> 00:46:57,589
Remotely this intricate
in space.
422
00:47:00,795 --> 00:47:02,155
When I got the job,
423
00:47:02,463 --> 00:47:04,303
I didn't smile
and I didn't celebrate anything.
424
00:47:08,669 --> 00:47:09,669
I says, "Here we go.
425
00:47:12,606 --> 00:47:14,039
I'll do the best I can
with this."
426
00:47:16,243 --> 00:47:17,523
I told NASA
and I told the media,
427
00:47:19,714 --> 00:47:21,513
They're all saying
we're going to fix it,
428
00:47:24,852 --> 00:47:27,486
And I told them, "I don't know
if we're going to fix it."
429
00:47:30,124 --> 00:47:32,891
Musgrave and a team
of astronauts
430
00:47:35,262 --> 00:47:38,063
Trained for 20 months
preparing to fix Hubble.
431
00:47:44,638 --> 00:47:48,807
We choreograph this dance down
to every finger and every toe.
432
00:47:51,645 --> 00:47:56,181
You know, a great ballerina,
it's every finger and every toe.
433
00:47:59,787 --> 00:48:02,788
You can't have something
messed up.
434
00:48:06,427 --> 00:48:10,696
You can't exactly mimic
what you're going to do there.
435
00:48:15,169 --> 00:48:17,049
So in your imagination,
you watch yourself work.
436
00:48:22,476 --> 00:48:24,476
Then it is practice,
437
00:48:26,280 --> 00:48:28,040
So that you can pull it off
when you have to.
438
00:48:31,152 --> 00:48:33,318
To simulate working in space,
439
00:48:35,289 --> 00:48:37,723
The astronauts spent
400 hours underwater
440
00:48:43,664 --> 00:48:46,231
Rehearsing on a mock-up
of Hubble.
441
00:48:48,936 --> 00:48:51,737
I think the most incredible
thing about this
442
00:48:53,674 --> 00:48:57,709
Is that the astronauts were
prepared to risk their lives
443
00:48:59,513 --> 00:49:05,384
To go and fix
a scientific instrument.
444
00:49:11,759 --> 00:49:14,793
We know the shuttle
was not a perfect machine.
445
00:49:20,434 --> 00:49:23,335
After all,
there's been two disasters.
446
00:49:27,775 --> 00:49:31,310
I had a one-in-ten chance
of dying.
447
00:49:40,588 --> 00:49:42,354
I don't like those odds.
448
00:49:46,026 --> 00:49:49,428
But it's not a matter of fear.
449
00:49:52,766 --> 00:49:55,701
You've decided ahead of time
it's what you do in life.
450
00:49:59,440 --> 00:50:03,842
And we have lift-off.
451
00:50:06,680 --> 00:50:08,580
Lift-off of the Space Shuttle
Endeavour
452
00:50:10,751 --> 00:50:12,851
On an ambitious mission
453
00:50:15,756 --> 00:50:17,489
To service the Hubble Space
Telescope.
454
00:50:18,959 --> 00:50:21,159
In eight minutes,
455
00:50:24,231 --> 00:50:30,769
They went from zero
to 17,500 miles an hour.
456
00:50:35,342 --> 00:50:39,611
It's rough, and the vibrations
are very rough.
457
00:50:44,685 --> 00:50:48,220
It's a butterfly
bolted onto a bullet,
458
00:50:54,028 --> 00:50:56,094
You know,
that's what's going on.
459
00:51:01,168 --> 00:51:04,328
It takes the crew two days
to catch up to the telescope.
460
00:51:11,211 --> 00:51:14,079
As soon as I caught
that bright star out there,
461
00:51:20,621 --> 00:51:24,590
It had to be Hubble,
nothing else.
462
00:51:26,560 --> 00:51:28,393
The moment of truth is coming.
463
00:51:30,631 --> 00:51:33,599
You can't run from it anymore,
it's coming.
464
00:51:39,573 --> 00:51:41,340
There it is.
465
00:51:46,513 --> 00:51:51,283
Endeavor, keep monitors
disabled,
466
00:51:52,553 --> 00:51:54,987
And you've got a go for capture.
467
00:51:57,124 --> 00:51:59,391
The crew will do
five spacewalks...
468
00:52:05,132 --> 00:52:07,372
At the time, the most ever
attempted on a single mission.
469
00:52:07,801 --> 00:52:09,201
Okay, visors as required.
470
00:52:15,209 --> 00:52:17,843
On the third walk, Musgrave
and astronaut Jeffrey Hoffman
471
00:52:31,258 --> 00:52:33,425
Need to replace Hubble's
wide field camera.
472
00:52:35,763 --> 00:52:38,163
It was designed to capture a
broad range of light frequencies
473
00:52:40,167 --> 00:52:42,034
Across a large area of the sky.
474
00:53:03,023 --> 00:53:05,791
Oh, look at that baby,
beautiful spanking new!
475
00:53:10,864 --> 00:53:13,799
The most critical moment
36378
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