Report on talk by NASA astronaut JOHN GRUNSFELD on repairing HUBBLE TELESCOPE

Report on talk by NASA astronaut JOHN GRUNSFELD on repairing HUBBLE TELESCOPE

 

On June 23, 2009, Chicago’s MUSEUM OF SCIENCE & INDUSTRY hosted the first talk by astronaut JOHN GRUNSFELD since his historic space mission around 1 month before to service the HUBBLE telescope orbiting around earth.  A crowd of 150 or so people were treated to a fascinating, educational, humor-filled talk (after he was introduced by the Museum’s President).

      ...  Using videos and slides, Dr. Grunsfeld gave the history of the ground-breaking work done in the Midwest by astronomer EDWIN HUBBLE for whom the telescope is named.  He explained how the telescope [conceived in the 1960’s] was designed to avoid interference by the Earth’s atmosphere (which causes the “twinkling” effect seen in stars)…

                             …  Dr. Grunsfeld spoke of how his family (including his sister in the audience) lived in the Hyde Park area of Chicago, & spent many enjoyable hours visiting the MSI as he was growing up.  He talked about his long and growing interest in the Space program, & how he worked hard to become an astronaut (which was a goal of some of the kids in the audience, as shown by a raising of hands)… 

                                       …  During the talk, Dr. G gave some of the historical background of the creation of telescopes 400 years ago and how Italian scientist Galileo created major improvements to the design and used them to discover 4 moons of Jupiter, sunspots and numerous other findings. When his discoveries caused him to support the [Copernicus] position that the Earth was NOT the center of our universe (with the Sun rotating around Earth), the Catholic Church [in 1615] worked to try to force him to change his stance. Dr. G kidded that some people --  such as Chicago’s Mayor Daley --  STILL consider that the world revolves around “us” here!…

                                             …  Continuing his talk about the background of the HUBBLE telescope [which was designed to be serviceable in space], Dr. Grunsfeld related how the original launch date was planned for October of 1986 --  but that was stopped by the disaster that befell space shuttle Challenger, which necessitated investigations on how to make space efforts more safe and reliable.  He spoke of how continuing manufacturing delays & vast cost overruns (of 6x the original $ 400 million estimate) delayed the launch still more…

                                                     …  Finally, on April 24, 1990, the Hubble was LAUNCHED.  But, it was immediately found that the main mirror on the ‘scope [as constructed by Perkin-Elmer] had been ground INCORRECTLY, making it virtually USELESS for its main intended use as the images were “fuzzy” & UNSHARP!  There were detailed investigations into how the errors occurred, who was to blame, & what could be done to FIX the massive problem…

                                            …  Finally, in December, 1993, seven astronauts went up [on Space Shuttle Endeavour mission STS61] with specialized tools designed to FIX the main problems with the telescope-- including installing new gyroscopes & revising its basic orbit.  In effect, they put the equivalent of “CONTACT LENSES” over the defective mirror, allowing it to eventually achieve sharp resolutions considerably BEYOND what was originally hoped-for…  He showed some EXAMPLES of the fabulous images obtained by the telescope…

                                            …  Dr. Grunsfeld spoke of his own Space Flight experience, including an Endeavour mission [STS-67] on March 2-18, 1995 during which observations were done concerning faint astronomical objects, ultraviolet light from distant galaxies & hot stars, etc…  He went up again as flight engineer [on STS-81] in ATLANTIS, which did numerous experiments [& docked with Russian Space Station Mir] between January 12-22, 1997… 

                                             …  On his 3rd mission (STS-103 in DISCOVERY, Dec. 19-27, 1999), he & his crew installed upgraded systems on the HUBBLE TELESCOPE, including new gyroscopes & specialized scientific instruments during 2 space walks… 

                                              …  Grunsfeld was involved [as payload commander] in the 4th servicing mission on HUBBLE, which occurred between March 1-12, 2002 in COLUMBIA [STS-109]. He showed slides of the huge new digital camera that was installed along with new solar arrays, a new power system & a cooling system for the infrared camera.  He himself did 3 Space Walks [totaling 21+ hours]…

      

                                               …  His latest Space mission occurred on May 11-24 of 2009 in ATLANTIS [STS-125], which was designed to be the 5th & LAST-scheduled Servicing mission on HUBBLE.  Dr. Grunsfeld proudly related how NASA had estimated their trip would be considered a success if they accomplished HALF of the hoped-for work--  yet, they were thrilled to have succeeded at accomplishing ALL the hoped-for efforts, & in fact added & succeeded in some UNSCHEDULED NEW projects beyond the original plans!…

                                                     …  As he spoke of the mission, Dr. Grunsfeld showed slides & a VIDEO detailing some of the work done retrofitting the now 19-year-old telescope in the Shuttle’s cargo bay. They had to unscrew tiny screws, deal with frozen and defective items, etc.  There were 5 daily spacewalks, which helped install and rejuvenate four scientific instruments, new gyroscopes & batteries, plus a new computer.  It’s hoped that the HUBBLE will last another 10-20 years, after which a NEW device will have to be put into orbit…

                                                          …  With clear excitement and devotion to what he does, astronaut Grunsfeld spoke of how the HUBBLE has allowed us to gather visual evidence of the dawn of the universe around 19 billion years ago, & how it’s hoped the new work will allow it to discover secrets about mysteries such as about DARK MATTER.  He showed his favorite shot from the telescope (of another universe), and spoke of how it’s been shown that the galaxy is ever EXPANDING & systems keep moving AWAY from each other…

                                                                     …  He said (as I recall) that it’s expected that our Solar system will eventually CRASH into the ANDROMEDA system--  but that will be many BILLIONS of years in the future.  He added, there’s no reason to ‘worry” about that--  because, even BEFORE that happens, it’s expected that our own Sun will EXPLODE & burn off all planets like ours--  but that also is a number of BILLIONS of years in the future, & nothing worth “concerning” ourselves with at this point!…

                                                      …  Near the end of his talk, Dr. Grunsfeld happily took QUESTIONS from the audience, & specially went out of his way to engage the YOUNG people there.  He said yes, he feels there definitely ARE other places which have LIFE on them, tho it may be far different than what WE know of here on earth.  He pointed out how, until relatively recently, it was felt there were NO other planets in the universe--  yet, in the past 20 or so years, we’ve discovered at least 350 other planets in various galaxies, there are BILLIONS of as-yet-UNexplored galaxies, & thus there are likely to be BILLIONS of planets, some of which should certainly have SOME forms of life… 

                                                            …  Dr. Grunsfeld spoke of UPCOMING space efforts, & how there are plans to try to find signs of WATER on both the MOON & MARS, both from robotic explorations and even eventual MANNED visits--  tho those latter efforts are likely to be some decades away in the future.  Besides introducing his wife & son Mace and other family members in the audience, he happily spoke of his LOVE for scientific discovery & how much he enjoys encouraging OTHER people in their efforts… 

                                                                   …  After his discourse (which lasted more than twice as long as the originally-scheduled 45-minute talk), Dr. Grunsfeld happily signed AUTOGRAPHS for members of the audience, and went out of his way to personalize them, with the first NAMES of various people.  My only “complaint” about the event is that I hadn’t brought a VIDEO camera to record the fascinating event!    

                   

                        …  After getting an autograph from Dr. Grunsfeld (who I sincerely complimented on doing a wonderful job in his talk), I went & saw the Omnimax movie “WILD OCEAN" (which I reviewed previously in my writeups this week)...

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