"And we have liftoff!"
After the first servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope...
...Hubble amazed us with its ability to see clearly into our universe.
But Hubble can also see things that our eyes don't naturally see
even if we were up close we would actually see something that looks more like this.
But how can we see this then when our eyes would actually see something that mostly resembles that?
And the answer to that question lies within Servicing Mission 2.
"Liftoff! Discovery now on its way!"
When Hubble was first launched into orbit, much of
the technology that support it today didn't even exist yet.
That's what makes Hubble so unique, over its lifetime Hubble was able to be serviced five times
allowing us to fix parts that may have been worn out and add new instruments
that have been specifically crafted to enhance Hubble's performance.
Now up until servicing mission 2 in 1997 the Hubble Space Telescope could only
capture light within the visible to ultraviolet spectrum. And even though our eyes can only see
within the visible range, NASA was after a wider reach into the spectrum of light.
By widening the range of light that Hubble is able to capture
astronomers could see into distinctly different windows into the cosmos.
This is because a picture is worth a thousand words, but the light that formed that picture also
has a story to tell. And here's where spectroscopy comes into the narrative of that story.
Spectroscopy is a technique that scientists use to
separate light into its component colors or wavelengths. And by separating light
into its components we are able to unpack greater detail about the space around us.
So NASA constructed the necessary mechanisms needed to capture a wider range of light.
They spent years combing over every detail of these new instruments and trained a team of
astronauts the techniques needed to install them properly into Hubble.
"The purpose of today is for the crew of the second servicing mission for Hubble
to get familiar with installing a science instrument into the telescope."
After the proper preparation of the new instruments
all the components of servicing mission 2 were ready for launch on the February 11, 1997 mission.
"Ignition and liftoff! Discovery now on its way to service NASA's Hubble Space Telescope!"
"Discovery the vehicle is now in a heads-down position on course for a 28.5 degree
309 nautical mile orbit."
"Good morning Discovery, it's the day to go grab yourself a telescope!"
"Hey good morning Chris, we're ready to do that!"
During this mission, the team of seven astronauts installed
the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph or STIS to Hubble
allowing us to separate ultraviolet and visible light into its components
giving scientists critical diagnostic information about an object's composition,
temperature, motion, and other physical and chemical properties. Also with STIS, Hubble was
able to capture in a single exposure a spectral region 30 times wider than previous spectrographs.
Now questions surrounding the study of massive black holes, stellar flares, the evolution of the
universe, and distribution of matter could now be studied in fuller view. but NASA did not stop there!
They also installed the near-infrared camera and multi-object spectrometer, or NICMOS, which allowed
Hubble to see into the universe by infrared light. We can now tackle questions like how do stars form?
How many stars have planetary systems? Or, how do galaxies form and evolve?
Additionally the astronauts of Servicing Mission 2 refurbished the fine guidance sensor and gyroscopes
all of which help point the telescope, they repaired failing thermal blankets which
regulate Hubble's temperature, added a better data recorder and data interface unit which all help
manage Hubble's data intake, and replace the electronics that drive Hubble's solar arrays.
Now more than ever we were able to see into the universe in a rainbow of colors that were
only a dream in the early 1990s.
Servicing Mission 2 went down in the history books by making
the Hubble Space Telescope more scientifically powerful than ever before.
"You all have done a great job so many thanks to all the people in all the other ground
locations supporting this mission. We understand the sacrifices
you made to make sure this was mission was successful."