Recommending: Trouble with Hubble
Summary
This episode of 13 Minutes follows NASA astronaut Kathy Sullivan as she prepares to launch the Hubble Space Telescope aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery. The narrative is interrupted by the tragic explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger, which grounds all missions and leaves Hubble stranded in a clean room. The story then flashes back to the origins of the telescope, highlighting Lyman Spitzer’s vision for a space-based observatory to see past Earth’s atmosphere. Finally, the crew launches Hubble on Discovery, only to discover a critical optical flaw that threatens the $1.6 billion missio…
Topics discussed
Sponsors and Introduction
Kathy Sullivan arrives at the clean room
The rigorous clean room preparation process
First look at the Hubble Space Telescope
Preparing Hubble for launch and potential repairs
The mission's high stakes and upcoming disaster
Kathy learns of the Challenger explosion mid-flight
The flight home and the press frenzy
The Challenger disaster and NASA's paralysis
Hubble sidelined and doubts about NASA's future
Lyman Spitzer's vision for a space telescope
Why telescopes must be above the atmosphere
Hubble's scientific capabilities and fundamental questions
Sponsor advertisements
Launch day preparations in 1990
The crew's journey to the launch pad
Boarding the shuttle and pre-launch checks
Countdown begins and APU startup
The valve failure and the engineer's decision
Liftoff of Space Shuttle Discovery
The Hubble flaw revealed and preview of fixes
Credits and production team
Promotion for The Global Story podcast
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