Space is a big thing and it is full of mysteries. It is so mysterious that scientists still haven’t calculated the exact size of the universe. They provide different calculations that are mismatching their theories.
According to many, the diameter of the universe is 23 trillion light-years, and this is just like “look at the size of the fish I caught”. There are no such theories available that could rightly outline the size of the space. As a result, we have massive measurements when we talk about distances in space, and the number of zeros would make anyone worried if they were written in the character limit.
As part of an overall picture of the universe’s size, some scientists also assert that light cannot reach the end of the universe in the lifetime of the entire universe. Before the end of the current universe, the light can’t reach the other end of the universe. For more information, one thing is to keep in mind that light travels approximately 186,000 miles per second in the empty air or space.
Space has been the most interesting part of human beings for several generations. Nevertheless, due to the lack of resources and technological advancement, nothing could be outlined until the Hubble Space Telescope launched into space. This is the most important space instrument that has enhanced human knowledge in space for up to 94 billion years. This is known as the observatory in space that has been constantly orbiting the world for three decades and regularly provides crucial deep space images to its land-based control center.
Known as the first optical telescope launched into space and controlled from an earth-based control center, the Hubble Space Telescope was the first optical telescope launched into space. It has been working fine about the clouds and the atmosphere of the planet earth. This is the main reason we have been getting minute updates regarding the details of the universe than before.
Though it has been constantly working for three decades, it is going to be replaced by the Webb Space Telescope which is the successor of the previous Hubble Space Telescope. It has been designed with more advanced techniques with an enhanced service period that would work relentlessly for more years compared to the previous one.
One of the crew members of the Hubble Space Telescope Dr. Steven Hawley shares the scene story with Betway and says that he was responsible for placing the Hubble Telescope into orbit in the year 1990. And, it has been orbiting the earth for thirty years.
Speaking to the press, Dr. Hawley says “the Hubble Space Telescope was revolutionary for the entire astronomy field. The launch of this outstanding telescope was critically important to solving the mysteries of space.
Now working as the director of engineering physics and professor of astronomy and physics at Kansas University, Dr. Hawley speaks about what the truth is.
This 69-year veteran space veteran has already spent 770 hours and 27 minutes which is more than 32 days, in space involving five separate Space Shuttle Missions between 1984 and 1999. According to him, the Hubble mission was the most spectacular mission has been working on. Also, in 1997, he participated in the Hubble Space Telescope repair mission, which was conducted in space to fix a malfunctioning telescope. This was the biggest NASA achievement to date.
The personal journey of Dr Hawley was amazing and inspiring. He says “I had a keen interest in the space programs when I was a kid. Al Shephard was launched when I was in fifth grade. However, I was not interested in becoming an astronaut; then they were only limited to military test pilots and my dream was to become an astronomer.” He further adds, “I had a lack of confidence and the essential skills to become successful in this field. Prior to getting selected, I did not have any experience flying an airplane and, more importantly, I had not done anything dangerous.
Dr Hawley had joined NASA after seeing advertising on the bulletin board at the University of California while continuing their studies at his Doctorate in the year 1977. Though, it was not a straight path to developing, launching, and placing the Hubble Space Telescope that would make history.
“It was all about preciseness and should be placed at the right time,” he says. “The truth is that, when I was selected for NASA, I was not going to space.” He further says, “We all were hired into a position called ‘astronaut candidate’. During the two years, you will undergo intensive training and proper evaluation, and if you are successful, they will remove the “candidate” tag from your name.
Hawley was initially assigned his first mission in February in the year 1983 which is approximately 5 years after joining NASA. He says “the preparation involves a lot of different aspects”. He further adds “there is a certain type of classroom work for you to do and there are also simulators and in my case, I had to be trained to fly jets from scratch because I did not have any prior experience flying anything.”
According to Dr Hawley, the transition from the classroom to the cockpit was exciting.
Dr Hawley says that “the way the cockpit works, including for launch and entry at least, is a team with three-person that is made with the commander, the pilot, and the flight engineer”.
He says with excitement that “I was working as a flight engineer and enjoyed that role. The position of the flight engineer is to sit behind and between the commander and pilot”.
“My main job was to help them through the ascent and the entry procedures, not just the normal procedures but the event had a problem. It helped me a lot with how the shuttle works and I really enjoyed that”.
Santosh Kumar is a Professional SEO and Blogger, With the help of this blog he is trying to share top 10 lists, facts, entertainment news from India and all around the world.