THIS IS AMERICAN BUILT.
♪
>> FOR CENTURIES, SETTING THE
STAGE FOR INTEREST THE GREAT
QUESTIONS OF HUMAN EXISTENCE.
HOW DID WE GET HERE?
ARE WE ALONE?
ARTISANS GALILEO POINTED HIS
TELESCOPE TO THE SKY, SCIENTISTS
HAVE REFINED HIS INVENTION BUT
YOU KNOW, EARTHBOUND
OBSERVATORIES CAN ONLY SEE SO
MUCH.
♪
>> SETTINGS THE SCARS FROM
EARTH’S ATMOSPHERE, IT’S A
LITTLE BIT LIKE TRYING TO STUDY
BIRDS FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE
POND.
LIGHT FROM DISTANT GALAXIES IS
TRAVEL THROUGH THE PRISTINE
BLACKNESS OF SPACE FOR BILLIONS
OF YEARS.
ONLY TWO IN THE LAST FRACTION OF
A SECOND SMEARED OUT AND
DISTORTED BY THE ATMOSPHERE
GETTING TELESCOPE UP ABOUT THAT
FEW HUNDRED MILES OF ATMOSPHERE
WE CAN SEE CLEARLY AGAIN.
>> WASHINGTON D.C. THE DAWN OF A
NEW AGE OF SPACE EXPLORATION.
♪
SCIENTISTS HAVE BONKED DREAMED
OF PUTTING A TELESCOPE IN SPACE
BUT IN 1946, AN AMERICAN
PROFESSOR TO UP PLAN THAT MADE
IT SEEM ALMOST POSSIBLE, HIS
NAME?
DOCTOR SPITZER.
>> WHO IS AN ASTRONOMER,
ASTROPHYSICIST AT PRINCETON
UNIVERSITY, HE HAD THE IDEA OF
WATCHING A LARGE TELESCOPE INTO
ORBIT WHERE WE CAN GET INCREDIBLY CLEAR IMAGES, DISTANT
INCREDIBLY CLEAR IMAGES, DISTANT
CELESTIAL OBJECTS I SEE WASHED
SATELLITE IN 1958, HE REALIZED
TECHNOLOGY TO DEPLOY AND
MAINTAIN A SPACE TELESCOPE WAS A
GENERATION AWAY BUT HE ALSO KNEW
HE WAS ON THE DRAWING SYNERGY
BETWEEN THE HUBBLE SPACE
TELESCOPE IN SPACE SHUTTLE IS
IMPORTANT.
THE DIFFERENT THE SPACE SHUTTLE
IS THE ABILITY TO GO UP INTO
SPACE AND THE ABILITY TO CARRY
ASTRONAUTS AND INSTRUMENTS TO LIVE AND WORK IN MORE ORBIT SO
LIVE AND WORK IN MORE ORBIT SO
WE CAN KEEP SPACE TELESCOPE OR
ANOTHER SIMILAR OBSERVATORY
ALIVE FOR MANY DECADES DEVELOPED
SHUTTLE, IT BEGAN WORK ON A
SPACE TELESCOPE, TOO.
THE LEADER OF THE TELESCOPE TEAM
DOCTOR HANS A GREAT ROMAN.
>> ANTICHRIST ROMAN IS UP AND
KNOWN AS THE MOTHER OF HUBBLE’S
SHE WAS THE FIRST ASTRONOMER AT
NASA IN ONE OF THE REAL
ADVOCATES THE FUNDING AND
PROGRAMMING FOR A TELESCOPE IN
SPACE.
>> 1970, DOCTOR ROMAN HAD THE
SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY BEHIND HER
ENGINEERING POWER OF NASA AT HER
FINGERTIPS BUT THE SHUTTLE
PROGRAM WAS STILL JUST IDEAS ON
PAPER SO SHE WOULD NEED TO
CONVINCE CONGRESS OF A
HYPOTHETICAL TELESCOPE TO GO
INSIDE IT.
>> CONVINCING CONGRESS IS NOT AN
EASY ENDEAVOR.
MOST SCIENCE PROJECTS WE
ACTUALLY DISCOVER IS SOMETHING
YOU CAN’T EVEN IMAGINE WHICH
MAKES IT HARD TO EXPLAIN ON THE
FRONT AND EXACTLY LIKE YOU WANT
TO DO IT.
>> MOTHER OF HUBBLE MADE A PITCH
FROM SIMPLE AND DIRECT.
THIS SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENT
CHANGE UNDERSTANDING OF THE
UNIVERSE OUR PLACE IN IT.
♪
>> NANCY WAS ABLE TO EXPLAIN TO
CONGRESS HOW IMPORTANT THE
TELESCOPE WAS.
>> HUBBLE WOULD BE MORE THAN JUST A TELESCOPE SCHOOL BUS
JUST A TELESCOPE SCHOOL BUS
SPACE BAR FIT INSIDE THE
SHUTTLES HAVE AFFECTED THE
SPACECRAFT ITSELF WITH HOUSING
OPTICAL TELESCOPE, SCIENTIFIC
INSTRUMENTS RIDERS EQUIPMENT.
ONCE RELEASED FROM A MASSIVE
SOLAR ARRAYS UNFOLD TO POWER
IT’LL PERHAPS THE MOST
SIGNIFICANT DESIGN ELEMENT BE
ITS SERVICEABILITY.
>> HUBBLE IS EXTREMELY UNIQUE
BECAUSE IT’S A SERVICEABLE
TELESCOPE.
>> THAT’S WHERE THE BIG
ENGINEERING WENT INTO THE
TELESCOPE.
THAT GAVE HUBBLE THE POWER IT
DID BECAUSE WE WERE ABLE TO KEEP
CONSTANTLY UPGRADING.
>> IT HAD TO BE BUILT SO
ASTRONAUTS FLOATING AROUND BIG
BULKY SPACESUIT LIKE WORKING ON
YOUR PART WITH BOXING GLOVES IS
THE WAY I WOULD DESCRIBE MY
FIRST WITH FIGURING CALVES BOTH
DRIVE WITH PRODUCTS WILL THAT
NEEDED TO BE DEVELOPED,
HANDRAILS ALL OVER THE
TELESCOPE, STORES, OFFICE HAS TO
BE CONSIDERED TO MAKE IT
SERVICEABLE THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT
THEY DID MEANT FOR THE EARTH OR
IN ORBIT, THE MOST CRITICAL
COMPONENT OF ANY TELESCOPE
MIRRORS OPTICAL TELESCOPE
HUBBLE, THE PRIMARY MIRROR
REFLECTS LIGHT TO A SECONDARY
MIRROR WHICH FOCUSES IT BACK
AGAIN THROUGH A TINY HOLE IN THE
PRIMARY MIRROR.
THERE, CAMERA CONVERTS LIGHT
INTO IMAGES.
♪
THE PRIMARY HERE ON HUBBLE HAD
TO BE A WHOPPING 2.4 METERS IN
DIAMETER WITH A MARGIN OF ERROR
LESS THAN HUMAN HAIR.
>> FABRICATION OF THE MIRRORS,
POLISHING OF MAYORS WAS A TRULY
PRECISION CASH.
>> IT MUST BE PRECISE THE GROUND
TO EXACTLY THE RIGHT CURVE.
>> EXACTING WORK DOESN’T COME
CHEAP.
SKYROCKETING COST BEGAN TO DRAW
FIRE FROM PROGRESS.
THE SENATOR GAVE HIS FAMOUS
GOLDEN FLEECE AWARD FOR WASTEFUL
GOVERNMENT SPENDING.
>> WHEN YOU YOU’VE NEVER BUILT
ONE BEFORE, IT’S DIFFICULT FOR
THE COST WILL BE.
LIKE MANY PRODUCTS, THE COST
HUBBLE PRODUCT TO GROW.
>> TO TRIM THE BALLOONING
BUDGET, NASA CANCELED THE
CONTRACT WITH CORRECT TO BUILD A
BACKUP MIRROR SOME FEARED THEY
WERE BEING PENNY WISE AND POUND
FOOLISH NOBODY WAS THINKING
ABOUT THE FATE OF HUBBLE WHEN
JUST EIGHT MONTHS BEFORE
HISTORIC LAUNCH, THE ENTIRE
AMERICAN RACE PROGRAM CAME TO A
SUDDEN PROJECT CALLED BACK NEVER
FORGET THEM NOR THE LAST TIME WE
SAW THEM THIS MORNING.
AS I PREPARE FOR THE DIRTY AND WAVED GOODBYE.