1 00:00:00,567 --> 00:00:02,803 ♪ ♪ 2 00:00:02,836 --> 00:00:07,607 NARRATOR: In 1977 NASA is given an enormous challenge -- 3 00:00:07,641 --> 00:00:11,345 build a space telescope with the potential to unlock 4 00:00:11,378 --> 00:00:13,480 the secrets of our universe. 5 00:00:13,514 --> 00:00:15,316 MIKE: It’s an engineering wonder. 6 00:00:15,349 --> 00:00:18,385 It really is an engineering miracle. 7 00:00:18,418 --> 00:00:22,656 NARRATOR: The project pushes engineers, scientists 8 00:00:22,689 --> 00:00:26,359 and astronauts into uncharted territory. 9 00:00:26,393 --> 00:00:28,595 ARCHIVE: Liftoff of the Space Shuttle Discovery 10 00:00:28,629 --> 00:00:30,564 with the Hubble Space Telescope. 11 00:00:30,597 --> 00:00:33,366 ED: We put our careers and lives in that shuttle bay. 12 00:00:33,400 --> 00:00:35,702 NARRATOR: From construction to release. 13 00:00:35,736 --> 00:00:38,939 STORY: The solar panels wouldn’t go out. They were stuck. 14 00:00:38,972 --> 00:00:40,474 MISSION CONTROL: I need answers now. 15 00:00:40,507 --> 00:00:41,942 NARRATOR: From ridicule... 16 00:00:41,975 --> 00:00:44,478 JIM GUNN: I thought that there was no conceivable way 17 00:00:44,511 --> 00:00:46,613 that they could fix this. 18 00:00:46,647 --> 00:00:47,848 NARRATOR: To redemption. 19 00:00:47,881 --> 00:00:50,884 JEFF: Man, that was a neat moment. 20 00:00:50,918 --> 00:00:52,987 ED: It’s a classic story of human ingenuity 21 00:00:53,020 --> 00:00:56,023 and human perseverance. 22 00:00:56,056 --> 00:00:59,226 NARRATOR: This is the story of the unsung heroes 23 00:00:59,259 --> 00:01:02,162 who built the Hubble Space Telescope. 24 00:01:02,195 --> 00:01:05,699 ARCHIVE: Discovery, Hubble is open for business. 25 00:01:05,732 --> 00:01:15,775 [♪ theme music ♪] 26 00:01:15,809 --> 00:01:17,644 ♪ ♪ 27 00:01:17,678 --> 00:01:20,281 NARRATOR: December 7th, 1993. 28 00:01:20,314 --> 00:01:23,417 In the lethal environment of space, astronauts risk 29 00:01:23,450 --> 00:01:30,757 their lives trying to save the $1.5 billion Hubble Telescope. 30 00:01:30,791 --> 00:01:33,661 ED: We had to do it. The future of Hubble was at stake. 31 00:01:33,694 --> 00:01:36,197 Perhaps even the future of our agency. 32 00:01:36,229 --> 00:01:38,164 JEFF: The servicing mission was a technical challenge 33 00:01:38,198 --> 00:01:41,768 like none anybody had ever seen. 34 00:01:41,802 --> 00:01:45,005 NARRATOR: Delicate new hardware must be installed. 35 00:01:45,038 --> 00:01:47,240 Without it the telescope’s performance 36 00:01:47,274 --> 00:01:50,677 is critically impaired. 37 00:01:50,711 --> 00:01:54,315 ED: You’ve got this huge spacesuit on with big thick gloves. 38 00:01:54,348 --> 00:01:57,618 How in the world are you gonna do very fine electronic work? 39 00:01:58,952 --> 00:02:01,855 MISSION CONTROL: Have you checked your mechanism’s cocked, Story? 40 00:02:01,888 --> 00:02:05,892 STORY: People consider that to be the most critical maneuver. 41 00:02:05,926 --> 00:02:07,227 If I tap that thing, it’s over. 42 00:02:08,228 --> 00:02:10,530 ASTRONAUT: Okay, are you ready for me to let go? 43 00:02:10,564 --> 00:02:13,534 ASTRONAUT: Yes I am. 44 00:02:13,567 --> 00:02:19,139 ♪ ♪ 45 00:02:19,172 --> 00:02:23,243 NARRATOR: For over two decades, the Hubble Space Telescope has provided 46 00:02:23,276 --> 00:02:27,046 humanity with unparalleled views of the universe. 47 00:02:30,150 --> 00:02:32,219 ASTRONAUT: Hubble isn’t just a satellite. 48 00:02:32,252 --> 00:02:35,555 It’s about humanity’s quest for knowledge. 49 00:02:35,589 --> 00:02:40,527 NARRATOR: Before it, images of this clarity simply didn’t exist. 50 00:02:40,560 --> 00:02:43,696 MIKE: Hubble shows us the beauty of the universe. 51 00:02:43,730 --> 00:02:46,466 We all can look up at the sky at night and wonder 52 00:02:46,500 --> 00:02:49,770 what’s going on out there, where did we come from, who are we? 53 00:02:49,803 --> 00:02:52,639 Is there anyone else out there? 54 00:02:52,673 --> 00:02:55,809 CHARLIE: The great fun of science is that it answers questions 55 00:02:55,842 --> 00:03:00,013 and that it creates questions, and Hubble’s done both. 56 00:03:00,047 --> 00:03:03,450 NARRATOR: Named after American cosmologist Edwin Hubble, 57 00:03:03,483 --> 00:03:06,786 this school-bus-sized observatory circles our planet 58 00:03:06,820 --> 00:03:10,490 at over 17,000 miles per hour, capturing light 59 00:03:10,524 --> 00:03:15,362 6 billion times fainter than the human eye can see. 60 00:03:15,395 --> 00:03:17,564 ED: Your eye can see more or less a flashlight, 61 00:03:17,597 --> 00:03:20,633 a two-cell flashlight maybe a couple miles. 62 00:03:20,667 --> 00:03:22,969 Hubble could see that flashlight on the moon, 63 00:03:23,003 --> 00:03:28,542 240,000 miles away. 64 00:03:28,575 --> 00:03:29,943 NARRATOR: The incredible journey to build 65 00:03:29,976 --> 00:03:35,982 this revolutionary machine begins over 70 years ago. 66 00:03:36,016 --> 00:03:43,857 ♪ ♪ 67 00:03:43,890 --> 00:03:47,694 September 1946. 68 00:03:47,728 --> 00:03:51,665 American astrophysicist Lyman Spitzer writes a short paper 69 00:03:51,698 --> 00:03:56,436 that changes the course of history. 70 00:03:56,470 --> 00:03:58,572 He’s frustrated with trying to observe space 71 00:03:58,605 --> 00:04:02,075 from the Earth’s surface -- because our atmosphere blurs 72 00:04:02,109 --> 00:04:06,580 the view of the heavens. 73 00:04:06,613 --> 00:04:08,782 DAVID: You know that, "Twinkle, twinkle, little star"? 74 00:04:08,815 --> 00:04:10,917 Well, everybody loves that song. 75 00:04:10,951 --> 00:04:12,219 Astronomers hate it, 76 00:04:12,252 --> 00:04:14,755 because they wanna get rid of that twinkle. 77 00:04:14,788 --> 00:04:17,157 NARRATOR: Earth’s atmosphere also filters out wavelengths 78 00:04:17,190 --> 00:04:20,160 of light such as ultraviolet that are critical 79 00:04:20,193 --> 00:04:25,598 for unraveling the evolution of our cosmos. 80 00:04:25,632 --> 00:04:28,802 Inspired by advances in rocket technology, 81 00:04:28,835 --> 00:04:32,572 Spitzer makes a revolutionary proposal -- 82 00:04:32,606 --> 00:04:37,845 an orbiting observatory above our atmosphere. 83 00:04:37,878 --> 00:04:40,147 ED: The idea of putting a telescope in space, 84 00:04:40,180 --> 00:04:42,215 I mean, give me a break; we didn’t even have satellites 85 00:04:42,249 --> 00:04:44,785 when Dr. Spitzer wrote that paper. 86 00:04:44,818 --> 00:04:52,559 ♪ ♪ 87 00:04:52,592 --> 00:04:54,994 NARRATOR: Spitzer devotes the next three decades 88 00:04:55,028 --> 00:04:57,264 to promoting cutting-edge research 89 00:04:57,297 --> 00:05:00,467 which will make his dream possible. 90 00:05:00,500 --> 00:05:01,701 CHARLIE: What Lyman Spitzer did is 91 00:05:01,735 --> 00:05:05,572 move the space telescope idea from pure science fiction 92 00:05:05,605 --> 00:05:09,742 to, you might actually be able to do this. 93 00:05:09,776 --> 00:05:13,380 NARRATOR: In 1977 his efforts are finally rewarded 94 00:05:13,413 --> 00:05:18,852 when Congress approves funding for a space telescope. 95 00:05:18,885 --> 00:05:22,489 NASA must now deliver Spitzer’s dream. 96 00:05:22,522 --> 00:05:27,394 But building this telescope is an immense technical challenge. 97 00:05:27,427 --> 00:05:31,531 Chief engineer Jean Olivier shoulders much of the burden. 98 00:05:31,565 --> 00:05:34,902 JEAN: Hubble was an extremely ambitious program. 99 00:05:34,935 --> 00:05:35,903 The further we got into it, 100 00:05:35,936 --> 00:05:40,140 the more ambitious we realized it really was. 101 00:05:40,173 --> 00:05:43,276 NARRATOR: Before construction of the telescope can even begin, 102 00:05:43,310 --> 00:05:48,015 NASA must decide how to launch it into orbit. 103 00:05:48,048 --> 00:05:52,219 As it happens, the agency’s crown jewel, the space shuttle, 104 00:05:52,252 --> 00:05:55,555 is in the final stages of testing. 105 00:05:55,589 --> 00:05:59,460 DAVID: As NASA put all of its dimes into the space shuttle, 106 00:05:59,492 --> 00:06:02,195 many scientific missions had to be redefined 107 00:06:02,229 --> 00:06:04,465 in terms of being carried by the shuttle. 108 00:06:04,497 --> 00:06:06,666 ARCHIVE: Fitting into the shuttle’s cargo bay, 109 00:06:06,700 --> 00:06:10,137 the telescope will be latched to a tilting mechanism... 110 00:06:10,170 --> 00:06:13,573 NARRATOR: Putting Hubble into orbit with a reusable vehicle 111 00:06:13,607 --> 00:06:17,845 offers engineers a fantastic new opportunity. 112 00:06:17,878 --> 00:06:21,081 JOHN: The space shuttle was going to be there 113 00:06:21,114 --> 00:06:23,516 to service the Hubble and upgrade its instruments 114 00:06:23,550 --> 00:06:26,720 every three years or so. 115 00:06:26,753 --> 00:06:29,623 NARRATOR: To ensure Hubble can be improved over time, 116 00:06:29,656 --> 00:06:32,359 engineers design it to be modular. 117 00:06:32,392 --> 00:06:34,861 Each of its five scientific instruments, 118 00:06:34,895 --> 00:06:37,865 tasked with unlocking the mysteries of the universe, 119 00:06:37,898 --> 00:06:41,735 must be packaged in its own easy-to-replace box. 120 00:06:41,768 --> 00:06:44,170 MIKE: And so everything had to be done such that 121 00:06:44,204 --> 00:06:49,009 it could be removed, but removed by spacewalking astronauts. 122 00:06:49,042 --> 00:06:52,646 NARRATOR: But while the shuttle extends Hubble’s shelf life, 123 00:06:52,679 --> 00:06:56,116 it has one major drawback. 124 00:06:56,149 --> 00:06:59,085 ED: Basically Hubble was built as large as it could be built 125 00:06:59,119 --> 00:07:01,021 to fit in the shuttle bay. 126 00:07:01,054 --> 00:07:03,356 I’m sure many of the engineers wished they had more room, 127 00:07:03,390 --> 00:07:05,559 as it turned out. 128 00:07:05,592 --> 00:07:07,961 NARRATOR: Hubble needs to be smaller and lighter 129 00:07:07,994 --> 00:07:09,896 than Earth-based telescopes 130 00:07:09,930 --> 00:07:14,835 but also have more advanced scientific capabilities. 131 00:07:14,868 --> 00:07:18,338 And no part is more important to the taxpaying public, 132 00:07:18,371 --> 00:07:20,440 whose dollars fund the project, 133 00:07:20,473 --> 00:07:23,977 than the one that will provide the pictures. 134 00:07:24,010 --> 00:07:25,645 JEFF: If you’d have asked what’s the one thing that 135 00:07:25,679 --> 00:07:29,983 you have to have, the answer is you had to have a camera. 136 00:07:30,016 --> 00:07:32,685 But at the time nobody had built a camera 137 00:07:32,719 --> 00:07:36,223 that had to be this good. 138 00:07:36,256 --> 00:07:38,892 NARRATOR: Unlike most telescopes on Earth at the time, 139 00:07:38,925 --> 00:07:41,127 it’s not practical for Hubble’s camera 140 00:07:41,161 --> 00:07:44,798 to use photographic film. 141 00:07:44,831 --> 00:07:49,402 BOB: We had to have a camera that would work very remotely 142 00:07:49,436 --> 00:07:52,439 and sent its signal back. 143 00:07:52,472 --> 00:07:56,042 NARRATOR: Restricted by size, the camera must be lightweight, 144 00:07:56,076 --> 00:08:00,047 robust and sensitive to a wide spectrum of light. 145 00:08:00,080 --> 00:08:04,251 The battle comes down to two very different devices. 146 00:08:04,284 --> 00:08:07,187 DAVID: You had a choice that had been tested, 147 00:08:07,220 --> 00:08:09,489 the television-type camera tube. 148 00:08:09,522 --> 00:08:11,624 But then you had something new. 149 00:08:11,658 --> 00:08:15,095 Something untested but really promising. 150 00:08:15,128 --> 00:08:19,966 And that is solid-state, silicon technologies 151 00:08:20,000 --> 00:08:23,170 that we call, today, charge-coupled devices. 152 00:08:23,203 --> 00:08:26,540 NARRATOR: These nifty electronic "eyes" convert light 153 00:08:26,573 --> 00:08:29,009 into electricity, building up a picture made 154 00:08:29,042 --> 00:08:33,780 of tiny individual squares called pixels. 155 00:08:33,813 --> 00:08:37,450 Smaller and more sensitive to light, the charge-coupled device 156 00:08:37,484 --> 00:08:41,655 or CCD, appears to be the better bet. 157 00:08:41,688 --> 00:08:44,157 But there are serious drawbacks -- 158 00:08:44,190 --> 00:08:47,560 they’re untested, can’t detect UV light, 159 00:08:47,594 --> 00:08:49,529 and they have a field of view much smaller 160 00:08:49,562 --> 00:08:52,465 than the television-type tubes. 161 00:08:52,499 --> 00:08:55,002 ED: It was pushing the state of the art a little bit too far, 162 00:08:55,035 --> 00:08:57,237 a lot of people thought. 163 00:08:57,270 --> 00:09:00,039 NARRATOR: With no clear winner, NASA puts out a request 164 00:09:00,073 --> 00:09:01,841 for proposals. 165 00:09:01,875 --> 00:09:05,679 Bob O’Dell is a prominent member of the selection committee. 166 00:09:05,712 --> 00:09:09,616 BOB: I cannot say I made the selection, 167 00:09:09,649 --> 00:09:12,485 but I wouldn’t have been in the room without having 168 00:09:12,519 --> 00:09:17,290 a strong opinion and expressing it. 169 00:09:17,323 --> 00:09:20,126 NARRATOR: At the California Institute of Technology, the 170 00:09:20,160 --> 00:09:23,797 challenge attracts the attention of two maverick professors 171 00:09:23,830 --> 00:09:26,933 -- Jim Westphal and Jim Gunn. 172 00:09:26,966 --> 00:09:30,636 BOB: Jim Westphal was wonderfully hands-on; 173 00:09:30,670 --> 00:09:36,643 he was absolutely a Thomas Edison type person. 174 00:09:36,676 --> 00:09:41,514 Jim Gunn was the scientist, well-acknowledged to be one of 175 00:09:41,548 --> 00:09:46,887 the smartest guys in our field. 176 00:09:46,920 --> 00:09:50,123 NARRATOR: Since 1975, they’ve been experimenting 177 00:09:50,156 --> 00:09:53,559 with ground-based telescopes fitted with CCDs. 178 00:09:56,096 --> 00:10:01,034 JIM GUNN: They were clearly the magic bullet. So we had to do this. 179 00:10:01,067 --> 00:10:05,638 NARRATOR: But Jim Westphal isn’t convinced. 180 00:10:05,672 --> 00:10:09,943 JIM GUNN: Jim was as allergic as I was to bureaucracy, 181 00:10:09,976 --> 00:10:14,447 so I knew that it was going to be an uphill battle. 182 00:10:14,481 --> 00:10:18,118 NARRATOR: October 1976. 183 00:10:18,151 --> 00:10:20,487 DAVID: One day Jim got a phone call 184 00:10:20,520 --> 00:10:21,921 and it was from Jim Gunn, 185 00:10:21,955 --> 00:10:24,724 and a phone call from Jim Gunn usually means something. 186 00:10:24,757 --> 00:10:29,362 Jim simply said, "Can I come over and talk?" 187 00:10:29,395 --> 00:10:31,964 JIM GUNN: I think I just wandered over there and said, 188 00:10:31,998 --> 00:10:37,637 "We have to build a CCD camera for space telescope," 189 00:10:37,670 --> 00:10:42,608 and the reaction as I remember was exactly as I expected. 190 00:10:42,642 --> 00:10:45,845 "No bloody way." 191 00:10:45,879 --> 00:10:48,982 NARRATOR: But Gunn won’t take no for an answer. 192 00:10:49,015 --> 00:10:52,051 JIM GUNN: I think I finally twisted his arm by 193 00:10:52,085 --> 00:10:56,456 figuratively reading Lyman’s paper to him. 194 00:10:56,489 --> 00:10:59,459 And saying, "Look, this is an opportunity 195 00:10:59,492 --> 00:11:03,496 we simply cannot pass up." 196 00:11:03,530 --> 00:11:06,133 NARRATOR: Westphal agrees to lead the project 197 00:11:06,166 --> 00:11:09,436 and recruits an elite team. 198 00:11:09,469 --> 00:11:11,705 Together they must create a camera 199 00:11:11,738 --> 00:11:15,609 that will help unlock the secrets of the universe. 200 00:11:19,279 --> 00:11:23,183 ♪ ♪ 201 00:11:23,216 --> 00:11:26,453 NARRATOR: In the fall of 1976 James Westphal 202 00:11:26,486 --> 00:11:30,256 and his newly assembled Caltech team begin fresh experiments 203 00:11:30,290 --> 00:11:33,260 with the technology they hope will form the core 204 00:11:33,293 --> 00:11:40,700 of their camera -- charge-coupled devices. 205 00:11:40,733 --> 00:11:42,735 JIM GUNN: You have a thing that’s very, very close to this 206 00:11:42,769 --> 00:11:43,970 in your smart phone. 207 00:11:44,003 --> 00:11:47,807 The problem was that at the time this technology was very new. 208 00:11:47,840 --> 00:11:49,809 And though it was incredibly promising, 209 00:11:49,842 --> 00:11:52,845 it was also very risky. 210 00:11:52,879 --> 00:11:56,883 NARRATOR: Convincing NASA that CCDs are the technology to go for 211 00:11:56,916 --> 00:12:01,154 means overcoming some critical engineering challenges. 212 00:12:01,187 --> 00:12:04,691 First up -- field of view. 213 00:12:04,724 --> 00:12:08,962 In the mid-1970s CCDs are relatively small. 214 00:12:08,995 --> 00:12:13,099 This limits the size of image they can produce. 215 00:12:13,132 --> 00:12:15,801 But scientists demand that Hubble’s camera 216 00:12:15,835 --> 00:12:19,405 has a wide field of view to record larger portions 217 00:12:19,439 --> 00:12:22,742 of the cosmos. 218 00:12:22,775 --> 00:12:25,244 To compete with television-style cameras, 219 00:12:25,278 --> 00:12:28,681 Westphal must increase the CCD’s field of view 220 00:12:28,715 --> 00:12:33,086 by at least a factor of 4. 221 00:12:33,119 --> 00:12:36,356 As it happens, Bob O’Dell has a radical solution 222 00:12:36,389 --> 00:12:40,326 that he chooses to share with Westphal. 223 00:12:40,360 --> 00:12:43,396 Instead of building a single larger CCD, 224 00:12:43,429 --> 00:12:47,066 he suggests using four smaller ones. 225 00:12:47,100 --> 00:12:50,370 As light from the telescope enters the camera, a specially 226 00:12:50,403 --> 00:12:53,973 designed pyramid-shaped mirror splits the beam 227 00:12:54,007 --> 00:12:58,345 and redirects it onto four separate CCDs. 228 00:12:58,378 --> 00:13:03,049 BOB: So the final image is a mosaic of the four components. 229 00:13:06,085 --> 00:13:08,721 NARRATOR: Now just one daunting engineering roadblock 230 00:13:08,755 --> 00:13:14,961 stands in Westphal’s way -- capturing ultraviolet light. 231 00:13:14,994 --> 00:13:17,663 JIM GUNN: People were very interested in what stars are made out of. 232 00:13:17,697 --> 00:13:19,098 They were very interested in what the gas 233 00:13:19,132 --> 00:13:22,435 and the galaxy is made out of. 234 00:13:22,468 --> 00:13:24,937 To understand that you really need to look 235 00:13:24,971 --> 00:13:27,707 into the ultraviolet. 236 00:13:27,740 --> 00:13:29,675 NARRATOR: The trouble is CCDs can’t see 237 00:13:29,709 --> 00:13:32,045 in the ultraviolet spectrum because 238 00:13:32,078 --> 00:13:36,049 the silicon they’re housed in absorbs it. 239 00:13:36,082 --> 00:13:41,454 Westphal must overcome this crucial problem. 240 00:13:41,487 --> 00:13:44,156 JIM GUNN: Problems were something that Jim solved. 241 00:13:44,190 --> 00:13:47,427 So naturally he was the guy who was going to, 242 00:13:47,460 --> 00:13:49,495 who was going to do this. 243 00:13:49,529 --> 00:13:53,767 NARRATOR: For inspiration, Westphal turns to nature. 244 00:13:53,800 --> 00:13:57,604 He studies chemical reactions that occur in living organisms 245 00:13:57,637 --> 00:14:00,173 which create light. 246 00:14:00,206 --> 00:14:02,141 Through his research, Westphal unearths 247 00:14:02,175 --> 00:14:05,045 some potentially game-changing chemicals 248 00:14:05,078 --> 00:14:08,048 that can convert UV light into visible light 249 00:14:08,081 --> 00:14:10,550 through a process called fluorescence. 250 00:14:14,153 --> 00:14:17,523 To test if fluorescence can be recorded by CCDs, 251 00:14:17,557 --> 00:14:20,326 Westphal carries out top-secret experiments 252 00:14:20,360 --> 00:14:22,963 with two different chemicals. 253 00:14:22,995 --> 00:14:27,299 Each is given a codename to ward off competition. 254 00:14:27,333 --> 00:14:32,104 JEFF: They’d talk about it as bug juice or mouse milk. 255 00:14:32,138 --> 00:14:34,574 This kind of magical stuff that you put on the surface 256 00:14:34,607 --> 00:14:36,676 of the CCD. 257 00:14:36,709 --> 00:14:40,046 NARRATOR: Westphal coats the CCDs in either bug juice -- 258 00:14:40,079 --> 00:14:41,714 the chemical lumigen -- 259 00:14:41,748 --> 00:14:45,018 or mouse milk -- the chemical coronene -- 260 00:14:45,051 --> 00:14:48,288 by evaporating them in a vacuum. 261 00:14:48,321 --> 00:14:50,957 JEFF: Nobody had done that kind of thing 262 00:14:50,990 --> 00:14:54,694 before with these devices. 263 00:14:54,727 --> 00:14:58,064 NARRATOR: Next, the detectors are inserted into a camera, 264 00:14:58,097 --> 00:15:03,502 exposed to a UV light pattern, and a picture is taken. 265 00:15:03,536 --> 00:15:06,639 If the tests fail, Westphal and Gunn’s dream 266 00:15:06,672 --> 00:15:09,675 to build the Hubble camera is over. 267 00:15:12,311 --> 00:15:14,013 ♪ ♪ 268 00:15:14,046 --> 00:15:18,183 The results with coronene are a breakthrough. 269 00:15:18,217 --> 00:15:21,454 The two main barriers to using CCD technology 270 00:15:21,487 --> 00:15:23,856 have now been overcome. 271 00:15:23,890 --> 00:15:28,094 Westphal’s team have increased the detector’s field of view 272 00:15:28,127 --> 00:15:32,365 and discovered how to record ultraviolet light. 273 00:15:32,398 --> 00:15:33,866 JIM GUNN: We were able to convince NASA 274 00:15:33,900 --> 00:15:37,170 that this was a technology that worked. 275 00:15:37,203 --> 00:15:41,174 But mouse milk won over bug juice in the end. 276 00:15:41,207 --> 00:15:42,842 ♪ ♪ 277 00:15:42,875 --> 00:15:44,810 NARRATOR: NASA green-lights construction of 278 00:15:44,844 --> 00:15:49,415 Westphal’s Wide Field/Planetary Camera, known as Wiffpic, 279 00:15:49,449 --> 00:15:54,020 with its core technology of CCD detectors. 280 00:15:54,053 --> 00:15:58,491 For the public, the camera will define Hubble’s success. 281 00:15:58,524 --> 00:15:59,759 ED: We had to do great science 282 00:15:59,792 --> 00:16:02,762 but also get that science to the public. 283 00:16:02,795 --> 00:16:05,064 So pictures were critical, 284 00:16:05,097 --> 00:16:09,702 and what instrument produced the neatest pictures? 285 00:16:09,735 --> 00:16:13,305 The Wide Field/Planetary Camera. 286 00:16:13,339 --> 00:16:16,409 NARRATOR: NASA’s chief scientist, Ed Weiler, pushes for 287 00:16:16,442 --> 00:16:21,514 the construction of a duplicate camera to keep in reserve. 288 00:16:21,547 --> 00:16:23,983 ED: Having an insurance policy that would only cost 289 00:16:24,016 --> 00:16:27,586 maybe $50 million was worth it. 290 00:16:27,620 --> 00:16:28,821 NARRATOR: After some cajoling 291 00:16:28,855 --> 00:16:31,891 the NASA hierarchy approves the idea, 292 00:16:31,924 --> 00:16:35,361 and the following year work starts on a replica camera -- 293 00:16:35,394 --> 00:16:39,398 Wiffpic 2. 294 00:16:39,432 --> 00:16:42,235 ♪ ♪ 295 00:16:42,268 --> 00:16:45,004 Crucial to the success of all Hubble’s instruments 296 00:16:45,037 --> 00:16:49,608 is the design of the telescope itself. 297 00:16:49,642 --> 00:16:54,247 Telescopes capture light using lenses and mirrors. 298 00:16:54,280 --> 00:16:56,649 The bigger they are the more light they can gather, 299 00:16:56,682 --> 00:16:59,885 and the more detail they can see. 300 00:16:59,919 --> 00:17:02,722 The further the light travels inside the telescope 301 00:17:02,755 --> 00:17:07,560 before it’s focused, the greater the magnification. 302 00:17:07,593 --> 00:17:09,895 But because Hubble must squeeze into the bay 303 00:17:09,929 --> 00:17:11,998 of the space shuttle, it can’t be as big 304 00:17:12,031 --> 00:17:16,168 as engineers would like. 305 00:17:16,202 --> 00:17:18,805 To extend Hubble’s view into the universe, 306 00:17:18,838 --> 00:17:21,274 they boost its magnifying powers using 307 00:17:21,307 --> 00:17:27,213 a 300-year-old optical trick -- hyperbolic curved mirrors. 308 00:17:27,246 --> 00:17:30,316 Reflecting light back and forth inside the telescope 309 00:17:30,349 --> 00:17:32,585 increases the distance it travels, 310 00:17:32,618 --> 00:17:36,322 making the instrument more powerful. 311 00:17:36,355 --> 00:17:38,123 It’s the perfect solution to engineering 312 00:17:38,157 --> 00:17:43,863 a lightweight high-performance telescope. 313 00:17:43,896 --> 00:17:46,899 But the success of this design hangs on the quality 314 00:17:46,933 --> 00:17:50,537 of the telescope’s light-gathering primary mirror. 315 00:17:50,570 --> 00:17:52,906 ED: It’s the brain or the heart of the telescope. 316 00:17:52,939 --> 00:17:56,376 That’s where it all starts. 317 00:17:56,409 --> 00:17:59,012 NARRATOR: NASA contracts the PerkinElmer company 318 00:17:59,045 --> 00:18:02,382 to undertake much of the complex technical work. 319 00:18:02,415 --> 00:18:05,184 This includes engineering the mirror. 320 00:18:05,217 --> 00:18:07,052 JEAN: The most challenging thing first was to build a mirror 321 00:18:07,086 --> 00:18:12,224 precisely enough to meet the resolution needs. 322 00:18:12,258 --> 00:18:16,462 ED: It had to be accurate over that 2.4-meter surface 323 00:18:16,495 --> 00:18:19,765 to a millionth of an inch. 324 00:18:19,799 --> 00:18:23,102 JEAN: If you were to take the diameter of Hubble 325 00:18:23,135 --> 00:18:25,704 and blow it up to the size of the Earth, 326 00:18:25,738 --> 00:18:28,674 then any deviation of more than about six inches 327 00:18:28,708 --> 00:18:30,476 would be unacceptable. 328 00:18:30,509 --> 00:18:33,212 ♪ ♪ 329 00:18:33,245 --> 00:18:35,481 NARRATOR: To achieve this level of precision, Hubble’s 330 00:18:35,514 --> 00:18:39,818 primary mirror is carved from a one-ton block of glass 331 00:18:39,852 --> 00:18:43,556 and meticulously polished with a spinning abrasive pad 332 00:18:43,589 --> 00:18:47,660 controlled by computers. 333 00:18:47,693 --> 00:18:50,963 After polishing sessions lasting up to 70 hours, 334 00:18:50,997 --> 00:18:54,934 the mirror’s shape is analyzed in this chamber. 335 00:18:54,967 --> 00:18:58,237 JOHN: The task of the optician to make the Hubble mirror 336 00:18:58,270 --> 00:19:02,441 is first to create a device that allows him 337 00:19:02,475 --> 00:19:05,478 to measure the surface. 338 00:19:05,511 --> 00:19:08,180 NARRATOR: But creating equipment that can measure accurately 339 00:19:08,214 --> 00:19:11,317 enough is a challenge in itself. 340 00:19:11,350 --> 00:19:14,753 CHARLIE: With Hubble we wanted to make a perfect mirror, 341 00:19:14,787 --> 00:19:17,923 and so the PerkinElmer, really smart guys, 342 00:19:17,957 --> 00:19:21,694 conceived of a thing called a reflective null corrector. 343 00:19:21,727 --> 00:19:26,899 NARRATOR: A null corrector is a precision optical test device. 344 00:19:26,932 --> 00:19:28,233 By shining a beam of light 345 00:19:28,267 --> 00:19:30,803 through this carefully calibrated instrument, 346 00:19:30,836 --> 00:19:33,539 engineers can create a light-wave pattern 347 00:19:33,572 --> 00:19:37,042 in the exact shape of the desired mirror. 348 00:19:37,076 --> 00:19:39,946 This light is then reflected back by the mirror 349 00:19:39,979 --> 00:19:43,449 and the interference pattern recorded. 350 00:19:43,482 --> 00:19:47,987 Straight strips mean the mirror’s curvature is perfect. 351 00:19:48,020 --> 00:19:52,291 A distorted pattern indicates it’s the wrong shape. 352 00:19:52,324 --> 00:19:54,860 By studying these images, optical engineers 353 00:19:54,894 --> 00:19:57,730 know where to continue polishing the mirror 354 00:19:57,763 --> 00:20:02,167 to create the perfect curvature. 355 00:20:02,201 --> 00:20:06,205 But it’s a painstakingly slow process that puts PerkinElmer 356 00:20:06,238 --> 00:20:08,240 badly behind schedule. 357 00:20:08,274 --> 00:20:10,143 CHARLIE: I think originally it was supposed to take nine months 358 00:20:10,176 --> 00:20:13,780 and probably took twice that. 359 00:20:13,813 --> 00:20:16,182 NARRATOR: As preparations for launch begin, 360 00:20:16,215 --> 00:20:20,619 PerkinElmer deliver the mirror to NASA. 361 00:20:20,653 --> 00:20:23,256 What they don’t realize is that a tiny flaw 362 00:20:23,289 --> 00:20:27,493 in the test equipment has gone unnoticed. 363 00:20:27,526 --> 00:20:30,863 DAVID: It was an oversight, and it had enormous ramifications 364 00:20:30,896 --> 00:20:33,332 in the life of the Hubble Space Telescope. 365 00:20:35,768 --> 00:20:41,340 MISSION CONTROL: 3, 2, 1 and liftoff, liftoff, 366 00:20:41,373 --> 00:20:43,642 of the 25th space shuttle mission. 367 00:20:43,676 --> 00:20:46,412 And it has cleared the tower. 368 00:20:46,445 --> 00:20:51,417 NARRATOR: January 1986, just months before Hubble is due to launch. 369 00:20:51,450 --> 00:20:53,886 MISSION CONTROL: Challenger, go with throttle up. 370 00:20:53,919 --> 00:20:55,921 ASTRONAUT: Roger, go with throttle up. 371 00:20:55,955 --> 00:20:58,057 [Explosion] 372 00:20:58,090 --> 00:21:01,460 MISSION CONTROL: Oh, God -- no! 373 00:21:01,494 --> 00:21:03,363 NARRATOR: The Challenger disaster plunges 374 00:21:03,395 --> 00:21:07,132 the space shuttle program into turmoil. 375 00:21:07,166 --> 00:21:09,168 MISSION CONTROL: Obviously a major malfunction. 376 00:21:09,201 --> 00:21:11,804 MISSION CONTROL: Okay everybody, stay off the telephones. 377 00:21:11,837 --> 00:21:13,572 Make sure you maintain all your data; 378 00:21:13,606 --> 00:21:16,275 start pulling it together. 379 00:21:16,308 --> 00:21:19,344 NARRATOR: As America comes to terms with the tragedy, 380 00:21:19,378 --> 00:21:21,780 NASA grounds the shuttle fleet, 381 00:21:21,814 --> 00:21:26,652 and Hubble’s launch is postponed indefinitely. 382 00:21:26,685 --> 00:21:29,721 For four years it sits in hibernation. 383 00:21:33,659 --> 00:21:35,928 MISSION CONTROL: Liftoff of Space Shuttle Discovery 384 00:21:35,961 --> 00:21:40,332 with the Hubble Space Telescope, our window on the universe. 385 00:21:40,366 --> 00:21:44,337 NARRATOR: Finally, on April 24th, 1990, after 13 years 386 00:21:44,370 --> 00:21:49,041 of blood, sweat and tears, Hubble is ready to leave Earth. 387 00:21:49,074 --> 00:21:51,443 ED: By the time we launched, about 10,000 people 388 00:21:51,477 --> 00:21:55,614 had spent some part of their lives working on Hubble. 389 00:21:55,648 --> 00:21:57,817 ASTRONAUT: Roger. Roll Discovery. 390 00:21:57,850 --> 00:21:59,852 JEFF: And you realize that sitting up there 391 00:21:59,885 --> 00:22:03,122 on the very top of that pillar of fire 392 00:22:03,155 --> 00:22:07,059 is this thing that you have attached your life to. 393 00:22:07,092 --> 00:22:11,063 This thing that is carrying the hopes of a whole science. 394 00:22:11,096 --> 00:22:14,600 MISSION CONTROL: Discovery’s velocity now 23,000 feet per second. 395 00:22:14,633 --> 00:22:17,569 JEFF: It kind of takes your breath away. 396 00:22:17,603 --> 00:22:21,207 NARRATOR: Discovery soars to nearly 380 miles, 397 00:22:21,240 --> 00:22:23,876 higher than any shuttle has flown before, 398 00:22:23,909 --> 00:22:27,813 to place Hubble above the Earth’s atmosphere. 399 00:22:27,847 --> 00:22:32,018 Now it’s time to set the telescope free. 400 00:22:32,051 --> 00:22:33,986 STORY: Discovery, you’re go to transfer Hubble 401 00:22:34,019 --> 00:22:34,987 to internal power on time. 402 00:22:35,988 --> 00:22:37,156 ASTRONAUT: Roger that, understand. 403 00:22:37,189 --> 00:22:40,693 Go transfer of internal power on time. 404 00:22:40,726 --> 00:22:44,897 NARRATOR: Story Musgrave is capsule communicator at mission control. 405 00:22:44,930 --> 00:22:47,366 STORY: I knew the importance of that mission. 406 00:22:47,399 --> 00:22:49,768 I knew what Hubble meant to people. 407 00:22:49,802 --> 00:22:53,739 NARRATOR: To generate power, Hubble relies on two solar arrays 408 00:22:53,772 --> 00:22:56,475 absorbing energy from the sun. 409 00:22:56,508 --> 00:22:59,478 But to unfurl the arrays there is a critical stage 410 00:22:59,511 --> 00:23:03,715 where Hubble must run on internal batteries. 411 00:23:03,749 --> 00:23:06,118 NASA must deploy the solar panels 412 00:23:06,151 --> 00:23:09,087 before the batteries run down. 413 00:23:09,121 --> 00:23:12,358 STORY: Once you’ve taken the power off of Hubble it’s gonna die. 414 00:23:12,391 --> 00:23:16,896 So we’re time-constrained. 415 00:23:16,929 --> 00:23:20,132 NARRATOR: The first panel unrolls perfectly. 416 00:23:20,165 --> 00:23:21,633 Now time for the second. 417 00:23:24,003 --> 00:23:26,005 ASTRONAUT: Houston, Discovery. It looks like the motion 418 00:23:26,038 --> 00:23:30,476 has stopped with just about one panel showing. 419 00:23:30,509 --> 00:23:34,980 STORY: They’re supposed to motor out, and it wouldn’t go out. 420 00:23:35,014 --> 00:23:37,383 JEFF: It’s like you’re watching the birth of your baby 421 00:23:37,416 --> 00:23:42,054 and it’s stuck. It’s a big deal. 422 00:23:42,087 --> 00:23:45,490 STORY: Okay, with the panels that you’ve got out there right now, 423 00:23:45,524 --> 00:23:49,094 that’s not satisfactory to stay overnight. 424 00:23:49,128 --> 00:23:53,499 NARRATOR: Years of work and billions of dollars are at stake. 425 00:23:53,532 --> 00:23:56,402 Engineers must find a way to release the stuck panel 426 00:23:56,435 --> 00:23:58,203 before time runs out. 427 00:23:58,237 --> 00:24:01,407 MISSION CONTROL: I need answers now. 428 00:24:01,440 --> 00:24:03,275 NARRATOR: The problem is quickly diagnosed. 429 00:24:03,909 --> 00:24:05,677 ASTRONAUT: Discovery, go ahead. 430 00:24:05,711 --> 00:24:07,613 MISSION CONTROL: We think there may be some problem 431 00:24:07,646 --> 00:24:10,782 with the tension monitoring software. 432 00:24:10,816 --> 00:24:15,554 NARRATOR: A sensor is saying tension in the panel is too high. 433 00:24:15,587 --> 00:24:19,024 One solution is to override it. 434 00:24:19,058 --> 00:24:22,328 But this could snap the solar array’s stem booms, 435 00:24:22,361 --> 00:24:26,799 rendering them useless. It’s risky, and engineers are split. 436 00:24:26,832 --> 00:24:28,934 MISSION CONTROL: We need to get on with it. 437 00:24:28,968 --> 00:24:31,137 NARRATOR: Under pressure from flight control, 438 00:24:31,170 --> 00:24:33,406 Jean Olivier is in the hot seat. 439 00:24:33,439 --> 00:24:35,274 JEAN: Finally it became clear we were at deadlock, 440 00:24:35,307 --> 00:24:38,076 so I just had to say, "No, we’re gonna do it. 441 00:24:38,110 --> 00:24:39,678 We’re gonna override it." 442 00:24:39,712 --> 00:24:43,649 STORY: We are disabling the tension check. 443 00:24:47,653 --> 00:24:53,626 ASTRONAUT: Okay Houston, we see motion. 444 00:24:53,659 --> 00:24:55,961 ASTRONAUT: It’s fully deployed. 445 00:24:55,995 --> 00:24:59,198 STORY: You let the breath go out, you let the air -- 446 00:24:59,231 --> 00:25:03,202 "Okay, we got through that one." 447 00:25:03,235 --> 00:25:05,838 NARRATOR: Now receiving the full power of the sun, 448 00:25:05,871 --> 00:25:10,008 Hubble can finally fulfill its primary purpose. 449 00:25:10,042 --> 00:25:15,714 To capture the universe in unprecedented detail. 450 00:25:15,748 --> 00:25:19,318 STORY: And Discovery, Hubble is open for business. 451 00:25:19,351 --> 00:25:22,020 MISSION CONTROL: We got our telescope. We got our telescope. 452 00:25:22,054 --> 00:25:23,122 MISSION CONTROL: That’s it. 453 00:25:29,795 --> 00:25:32,564 ♪ ♪ 454 00:25:32,598 --> 00:25:35,501 NARRATOR: May 20th, 1990. 455 00:25:35,534 --> 00:25:37,903 Scientists and engineers eagerly await 456 00:25:37,936 --> 00:25:40,939 the telescope’s first image. 457 00:25:40,973 --> 00:25:44,343 JEFF: The first image comes down, 458 00:25:44,376 --> 00:25:47,980 and it doesn’t look at all like what we expected it to. 459 00:25:48,013 --> 00:25:51,984 ♪ ♪ 460 00:25:52,017 --> 00:25:54,887 Not these sharp little images, 461 00:25:54,920 --> 00:25:57,623 but instead were kind of these big blobs 462 00:25:57,656 --> 00:25:59,691 that frankly didn’t look any better 463 00:25:59,725 --> 00:26:02,695 than the ground-based image. 464 00:26:02,728 --> 00:26:04,697 NARRATOR: Something has gone drastically wrong 465 00:26:04,730 --> 00:26:10,069 with the $1.5-billion-dollar space telescope. But what? 466 00:26:14,173 --> 00:26:16,208 ♪ ♪ 467 00:26:16,241 --> 00:26:18,276 June 1990. 468 00:26:18,310 --> 00:26:20,679 Over the next month every effort is made 469 00:26:20,712 --> 00:26:24,883 to understand what’s causing Hubble’s blurred vision. 470 00:26:24,917 --> 00:26:29,722 DAVID: It was a puzzle, a very dark puzzle. 471 00:26:29,755 --> 00:26:31,690 NARRATOR: Part of the Wiffpic camera team, 472 00:26:31,723 --> 00:26:35,794 Jon Holtzman and Sandy Faber analyze six further images 473 00:26:35,828 --> 00:26:37,897 taken by the telescope. 474 00:26:37,930 --> 00:26:45,237 They hint at a catastrophic problem -- spherical aberration. 475 00:26:45,270 --> 00:26:48,306 Spherical aberration is caused when the primary mirror 476 00:26:48,340 --> 00:26:51,610 is built the wrong shape so that it fails to focus light 477 00:26:51,643 --> 00:26:53,812 into a single point. 478 00:26:53,846 --> 00:26:58,818 Instead light is smeared out, and the object appears blurred. 479 00:26:58,851 --> 00:27:00,820 It’s such an unlikely mistake that 480 00:27:00,853 --> 00:27:04,857 many engineers and scientists can’t believe it’s true. 481 00:27:04,890 --> 00:27:06,458 JEFF: We’re sure that spherical aberration 482 00:27:06,492 --> 00:27:07,827 isn’t going to be a problem, you know. 483 00:27:07,860 --> 00:27:10,262 Nobody’s going to screw it up that badly. 484 00:27:10,295 --> 00:27:13,165 ♪ ♪ 485 00:27:13,198 --> 00:27:15,534 NARRATOR: But Holtzman and Faber have compelling evidence 486 00:27:15,567 --> 00:27:18,503 that supports the theory. 487 00:27:18,537 --> 00:27:20,305 Holtzman shows the NASA hierarchy 488 00:27:20,339 --> 00:27:24,577 a comparison of six photographs taken by the telescope 489 00:27:24,610 --> 00:27:27,880 with a series of six computer-simulated images 490 00:27:27,913 --> 00:27:30,249 with spherical aberration built in. 491 00:27:32,351 --> 00:27:34,286 JON HOLTZMAN: And the match was nearly perfect, 492 00:27:34,319 --> 00:27:37,322 and I think that kind of proved to everyone 493 00:27:37,356 --> 00:27:40,159 that that was the problem that we had. 494 00:27:40,192 --> 00:27:44,797 NARRATOR: The most accurate mirror ever made is flawed. 495 00:27:44,830 --> 00:27:48,834 JOHN: It was made very accurately, very beautifully, 496 00:27:48,867 --> 00:27:52,371 to the wrong prescription. 497 00:27:52,404 --> 00:27:55,841 NARRATOR: In July 1990 an inquiry into the cause 498 00:27:55,874 --> 00:27:58,977 of Hubble’s faulty mirror reveals a mistake 499 00:27:59,011 --> 00:28:02,214 with the test equipment -- the null corrector. 500 00:28:02,247 --> 00:28:04,382 JOHN: It wasn’t quite aligned correctly, 501 00:28:04,449 --> 00:28:10,088 and that built into the whole operation an aberration. 502 00:28:10,122 --> 00:28:14,727 NARRATOR: Mis-spacing the null corrector by just a fraction of an inch, 503 00:28:14,760 --> 00:28:18,597 the outer edge of the mirror was polished incorrectly 504 00:28:18,630 --> 00:28:24,035 by 1/50th the diameter of a human hair. 505 00:28:24,069 --> 00:28:28,840 JEAN: We very precisely did the wrong thing. 506 00:28:28,874 --> 00:28:30,609 DAVID: The management error was that there was 507 00:28:30,642 --> 00:28:32,978 not enough checks and balances. 508 00:28:33,011 --> 00:28:34,980 NASA CONFERENCE: Now we will go to the floor for questions. 509 00:28:35,013 --> 00:28:36,515 NARRATOR: Of Hubble’s five scientific instruments, 510 00:28:36,548 --> 00:28:40,786 the Wide Field/Planetary Camera is the worst affected. 511 00:28:40,819 --> 00:28:44,623 It’s a major blow for everyone involved with the telescope. 512 00:28:44,656 --> 00:28:46,491 ED [Archive]: It would be dishonest of me to say 513 00:28:46,525 --> 00:28:49,128 the mood of the scientists is very happy right now. 514 00:28:49,161 --> 00:28:50,796 We’re all very frustrated, obviously. 515 00:28:50,829 --> 00:28:53,131 ♪ ♪ 516 00:28:53,165 --> 00:28:57,970 JEFF: If you ever want a picture of a person just in anguish, 517 00:28:58,003 --> 00:29:00,239 you want to find a picture of Ed Weiler 518 00:29:00,272 --> 00:29:02,875 at the end of that press conference. 519 00:29:02,908 --> 00:29:04,276 ED [Archive]: We feel right now that there’s 520 00:29:04,309 --> 00:29:06,144 probably no real science that we can do 521 00:29:06,178 --> 00:29:10,416 with the wide field camera at this time, and I’ll stop there. 522 00:29:10,449 --> 00:29:12,785 ED: It was very depressing because a lot of us 523 00:29:12,818 --> 00:29:15,888 had put our lives into this, our entire careers. 524 00:29:15,921 --> 00:29:18,824 Clearly Hubble’s future was in doubt. 525 00:29:18,857 --> 00:29:22,461 Perhaps the space shuttle’s future was in doubt. 526 00:29:22,494 --> 00:29:26,331 Perhaps NASA’s future was in doubt. 527 00:29:26,365 --> 00:29:29,368 NARRATOR: Some of the founding fathers are so disillusioned 528 00:29:29,401 --> 00:29:32,971 they leave the project altogether. 529 00:29:33,005 --> 00:29:38,444 JIM GUNN: About this time, I didn’t have enough faith in NASA. 530 00:29:38,477 --> 00:29:41,013 I thought that there was no conceivable way 531 00:29:41,046 --> 00:29:44,416 that they could fix this. 532 00:29:44,449 --> 00:29:48,853 NARRATOR: The press have a field day at NASA’s expense. 533 00:29:48,887 --> 00:29:50,722 JEFF: God, they were vicious. 534 00:29:50,756 --> 00:29:54,226 One that I remember; Jay Leno was, he just hit it again 535 00:29:54,259 --> 00:29:57,162 and again and again, and one of the jokes that I remember, 536 00:29:57,195 --> 00:29:58,596 it was around Thanksgiving, and he said, 537 00:29:58,630 --> 00:30:01,366 "What is, what sound does a space turkey make? 538 00:30:01,400 --> 00:30:03,836 Hubble, Hubble, Hubble." 539 00:30:03,869 --> 00:30:06,572 NARRATOR: As public support for Hubble dwindles, 540 00:30:06,605 --> 00:30:12,478 it appears the dream for this space telescope is over. 541 00:30:12,511 --> 00:30:15,814 But Charlie Pellerin, the man in charge of the Hubble program, 542 00:30:15,847 --> 00:30:18,383 refuses to give up hope. 543 00:30:18,417 --> 00:30:21,987 CHARLIE: This was a, a horrible, deep pain, 544 00:30:22,020 --> 00:30:23,488 and only one way to get rid of it, 545 00:30:23,522 --> 00:30:25,290 and that’s to find a way to fix the telescope. 546 00:30:25,324 --> 00:30:27,893 There was no, no other way. 547 00:30:27,926 --> 00:30:33,398 NARRATOR: The burning question is how to correct the flaw. 548 00:30:33,432 --> 00:30:36,502 Pellerin risks his career by secretly bankrolling 549 00:30:36,535 --> 00:30:41,140 a mission to find an engineering solution. 550 00:30:41,173 --> 00:30:42,441 CHARLIE: So, I brought in my budget analyst, 551 00:30:42,474 --> 00:30:45,344 and I said, "I wanna find $60 million for -- 552 00:30:45,377 --> 00:30:47,646 and by the way, you can’t tell anybody we’re doing this." 553 00:30:47,679 --> 00:30:50,081 ♪ ♪ 554 00:30:50,115 --> 00:30:53,285 NARRATOR: The fact Hubble can be serviced by astronauts 555 00:30:53,318 --> 00:30:55,420 offers a glimmer of hope. 556 00:30:55,454 --> 00:30:57,323 ED: If there were no way to service the Hubble, 557 00:30:57,356 --> 00:31:00,426 Hubble would’ve rapidly become in 1990 558 00:31:00,459 --> 00:31:04,897 a very expensive piece of floating space garbage. 559 00:31:04,930 --> 00:31:07,099 NARRATOR: It’s only now that Ed Weiler’s decision 560 00:31:07,132 --> 00:31:11,603 to build a backup camera becomes a masterstroke. 561 00:31:11,636 --> 00:31:14,405 ED: And thank goodness we had that clone going ready to go, 562 00:31:14,439 --> 00:31:17,208 because it was a simple -- a simple fix 563 00:31:17,242 --> 00:31:21,947 to change out four little nickel-sized mirrors. 564 00:31:21,980 --> 00:31:24,983 NARRATOR: These mirrors divert the light from the telescope 565 00:31:25,016 --> 00:31:28,820 to multiple electronic detectors within the camera. 566 00:31:28,854 --> 00:31:30,422 JOHN: It was like going to the optician and saying, 567 00:31:30,455 --> 00:31:32,057 "Well, your eyes aren’t quite right. 568 00:31:32,090 --> 00:31:33,925 You need this corrective lens." 569 00:31:33,959 --> 00:31:38,597 We put that correction on those little mirrors. 570 00:31:38,630 --> 00:31:43,535 NARRATOR: It’s an internal fix that can be done by engineers on Earth. 571 00:31:43,568 --> 00:31:46,838 When it’s installed, the new modified backup camera 572 00:31:46,872 --> 00:31:50,476 will go some way to fixing Hubble’s vision. 573 00:31:50,509 --> 00:31:53,445 But saving the four other instruments that scientists hope 574 00:31:53,478 --> 00:31:56,314 will unravel the mysteries of our universe 575 00:31:56,348 --> 00:31:58,717 proves much more challenging. 576 00:31:58,750 --> 00:32:00,385 ED: The other instruments didn’t have clones 577 00:32:00,419 --> 00:32:04,890 being built of them. There were no second copies. 578 00:32:04,923 --> 00:32:08,460 NARRATOR: These instruments require an external fix 579 00:32:08,493 --> 00:32:14,566 that can only be done by astronauts in space. 580 00:32:14,599 --> 00:32:19,370 The goal is to place corrective mirrors deep inside Hubble, 581 00:32:19,404 --> 00:32:21,306 in front of the remaining instruments, 582 00:32:21,339 --> 00:32:23,575 to correct their vision. 583 00:32:23,608 --> 00:32:26,144 But squeezing them into a very restricted space 584 00:32:26,178 --> 00:32:29,481 proves a technical nightmare. 585 00:32:29,514 --> 00:32:32,617 Jim Crocker is part of a multinational team 586 00:32:32,651 --> 00:32:35,487 tasked with finding a solution. 587 00:32:35,520 --> 00:32:39,457 JIM CROCKER: There were literally hundreds of ideas, 588 00:32:39,491 --> 00:32:42,127 but all of these were either impractical 589 00:32:42,160 --> 00:32:45,930 because an astronaut couldn’t do them in gloved hands 590 00:32:45,964 --> 00:32:47,766 or because it was too dangerous, 591 00:32:47,799 --> 00:32:49,834 such as going down the barrel of the telescope, 592 00:32:49,868 --> 00:32:53,772 where an astronaut might be trapped. 593 00:32:53,805 --> 00:32:55,240 NARRATOR: A mechanical fix is needed 594 00:32:55,273 --> 00:32:58,977 that won’t put the astronauts at risk. 595 00:32:59,010 --> 00:33:02,981 But the team struggles to come up with a viable design. 596 00:33:03,014 --> 00:33:05,250 ♪ ♪ 597 00:33:05,283 --> 00:33:09,454 After a conference in Germany, Crocker returns to his hotel. 598 00:33:09,488 --> 00:33:10,856 JIM CROCKER: I went to take a shower, 599 00:33:10,889 --> 00:33:12,891 and when the maid was cleaning the room, 600 00:33:12,924 --> 00:33:14,492 she had folded the arm down 601 00:33:14,526 --> 00:33:16,461 and slid it all the way down to the bottom. 602 00:33:16,495 --> 00:33:21,333 So to take a shower I had to slide it up and raise the arm, 603 00:33:21,366 --> 00:33:26,238 and when I did that I had this epiphany. 604 00:33:26,271 --> 00:33:30,008 The shower head got me into a different way of thinking. 605 00:33:30,041 --> 00:33:32,277 So it was the idea of raising something up 606 00:33:32,310 --> 00:33:34,012 above the other instruments 607 00:33:34,045 --> 00:33:36,114 and flipping it out to do the correction 608 00:33:36,147 --> 00:33:39,517 that we hadn’t thought of before. 609 00:33:39,551 --> 00:33:42,721 NARRATOR: In this moment a corrective optics device -- 610 00:33:42,754 --> 00:33:45,924 COSTAR -- is born. 611 00:33:45,957 --> 00:33:49,294 It will be prepackaged in an astronaut-friendly box 612 00:33:49,327 --> 00:33:53,198 with mirrors that deploy remotely. 613 00:33:53,231 --> 00:33:54,799 The only downside -- 614 00:33:54,833 --> 00:33:56,835 one of the existing scientific instruments 615 00:33:56,868 --> 00:34:01,639 will have to be sacrificed to make room for it. 616 00:34:01,673 --> 00:34:03,875 Crocker’s shower-head-inspired invention 617 00:34:03,909 --> 00:34:06,845 is now displayed here at the Smithsonian’s 618 00:34:06,878 --> 00:34:09,314 National Air and Space Museum. 619 00:34:09,347 --> 00:34:12,250 DAVID: This is the elegant engineering solution to 620 00:34:12,284 --> 00:34:15,420 what was a daunting technical challenge. 621 00:34:15,453 --> 00:34:18,323 The little mirrors that you see were deformed 622 00:34:18,356 --> 00:34:22,327 precisely to counteract the flaw in the main mirror, 623 00:34:22,360 --> 00:34:27,599 and only once the entire box was inserted 624 00:34:27,632 --> 00:34:33,004 with everything protected inside did the column extend, 625 00:34:33,038 --> 00:34:36,275 and then as it extended it deployed 626 00:34:36,308 --> 00:34:39,545 these little stalks with the mirrors 627 00:34:39,578 --> 00:34:45,184 into the optical beam of the other instruments. 628 00:34:45,216 --> 00:34:49,153 NARRATOR: To repair Hubble, both Wiffpic 2 and COSTAR 629 00:34:49,187 --> 00:34:51,356 must be installed by astronauts 630 00:34:51,389 --> 00:34:54,859 on a series of grueling spacewalks. 631 00:34:54,893 --> 00:34:58,563 This takes three years of meticulous planning. 632 00:34:58,597 --> 00:35:01,900 STORY: Stop. Stop. Up. Up. 633 00:35:01,933 --> 00:35:03,935 NARRATOR: Story Musgrave, who’s been working with Hubble 634 00:35:03,969 --> 00:35:09,208 for 15 years, is the first astronaut to be recruited. 635 00:35:09,240 --> 00:35:12,677 To prepare his body for the spacewalking ordeal ahead, 636 00:35:12,711 --> 00:35:15,347 Musgrave goes to extraordinary lengths, 637 00:35:15,380 --> 00:35:17,782 enlisting the help of Olympic athletes 638 00:35:17,816 --> 00:35:20,385 like figure skater Dorothy Hamill. 639 00:35:20,418 --> 00:35:24,756 STORY: I brought athleticism into the spacewalking world. 640 00:35:24,789 --> 00:35:28,059 If you look at a spacewalk, it is the choreography, 641 00:35:28,093 --> 00:35:30,462 the dance of this body and the tools, 642 00:35:30,495 --> 00:35:33,331 that’s gonna get to the finish line, and that’s it. 643 00:35:33,365 --> 00:35:37,402 There’s nothing else. That’s it. 644 00:35:37,435 --> 00:35:40,605 NARRATOR: As expectations of rescuing Hubble grow, 645 00:35:40,639 --> 00:35:44,476 the mission becomes more than just repairing a telescope. 646 00:35:44,509 --> 00:35:49,981 JEFF: It wasn’t just space telescope that was on the line. 647 00:35:50,015 --> 00:35:54,219 It wasn’t even NASA that was on the line. 648 00:35:54,252 --> 00:35:59,157 It was the broader question of, do we still do big science? 649 00:35:59,190 --> 00:36:03,194 ♪ ♪ 650 00:36:03,228 --> 00:36:09,000 If the servicing mission had failed that may well have been 651 00:36:09,034 --> 00:36:15,040 the end of trying to do things like this, and we knew it. 652 00:36:15,073 --> 00:36:18,843 STORY: We just had to do it and do it right. 653 00:36:18,877 --> 00:36:22,714 ARCHIVE: Three zero. We have ignition. 654 00:36:22,747 --> 00:36:26,684 NARRATOR: December 2nd, 1993. Kennedy space center. 655 00:36:26,718 --> 00:36:28,486 ARCHIVE: Roger, roll Endeavor. 656 00:36:28,520 --> 00:36:31,289 NARRATOR: Space Shuttle Endeavor thunders skyward 657 00:36:31,322 --> 00:36:33,825 on a mission to rescue Hubble. 658 00:36:33,858 --> 00:36:36,094 ED: We put our careers and lives in that shuttle bay. 659 00:36:36,127 --> 00:36:38,896 ♪ ♪ 660 00:36:40,732 --> 00:36:43,201 ASTRONAUT: It’s quite a sight. 661 00:36:43,234 --> 00:36:46,370 NARRATOR: As Endeavor approaches Hubble, the crew reaches out 662 00:36:46,404 --> 00:36:49,440 with the robotic arm to capture the telescope. 663 00:36:52,911 --> 00:36:55,814 ASTRONAUT: Houston, Endeavor has a firm handshake 664 00:36:55,847 --> 00:36:58,416 with Mr. Hubble’s telescope. 665 00:36:58,450 --> 00:37:04,222 MISSION CONTROL: Copy that Covey, and there are smiles galore down here. 666 00:37:04,255 --> 00:37:06,724 NARRATOR: With Hubble tethered, the astronauts embark 667 00:37:06,758 --> 00:37:12,297 on a series of perilous spacewalks. 668 00:37:12,330 --> 00:37:14,365 CHARLIE: The people that are willing to put that suit on 669 00:37:14,399 --> 00:37:16,501 and go out there and try and fix a science instrument 670 00:37:16,534 --> 00:37:22,540 is, is heroism at a level that’s almost unparalleled. 671 00:37:22,574 --> 00:37:25,410 NARRATOR: After two days of intricate repairs, 672 00:37:25,443 --> 00:37:27,745 Story Musgrave and Jeff Hoffman 673 00:37:27,779 --> 00:37:31,116 remove the original Wide Field/Planetary Camera 674 00:37:31,149 --> 00:37:34,419 in order to install the backup -- Wiffpic 2. 675 00:37:36,321 --> 00:37:37,422 MISSION CONTROL: Okay. 676 00:37:37,455 --> 00:37:39,857 Have you checked your mechanism’s cocked, Story? 677 00:37:39,891 --> 00:37:42,894 STORY: I’ve just cocked them, yes. I’ve just done them. 678 00:37:42,927 --> 00:37:45,530 NARRATOR: At the front of the unit is a delicate instrument 679 00:37:45,563 --> 00:37:49,367 that diverts light from the telescope into the camera -- 680 00:37:49,400 --> 00:37:52,103 the pick-off mirror. 681 00:37:52,137 --> 00:37:53,538 STORY: This was the most critical part 682 00:37:53,571 --> 00:38:00,611 of 40 hours of spacewalking. If I touch that mirror, it’s over. 683 00:38:00,645 --> 00:38:04,449 ♪ ♪ 684 00:38:04,482 --> 00:38:07,518 NARRATOR: As the world watches, Musgrave and Hoffman 685 00:38:07,552 --> 00:38:12,157 slowly maneuver the Wiffpic 2 camera into position. 686 00:38:12,190 --> 00:38:14,359 JEFF: These astronauts have to take this thing 687 00:38:14,392 --> 00:38:17,562 and somehow manage to slide it into this bay. 688 00:38:20,532 --> 00:38:21,800 ASTRONAUT: Looks like it’s in there. 689 00:38:21,833 --> 00:38:23,001 ASTRONAUT: Yes. 690 00:38:23,034 --> 00:38:25,303 ASTRONAUT: Okay are you ready for me to let go? 691 00:38:25,336 --> 00:38:26,671 ASTRONAUT: Yes I am. 692 00:38:32,477 --> 00:38:36,081 NARRATOR: The camera is installed without a hitch. 693 00:38:36,114 --> 00:38:38,350 Now for the corrective optics device. 694 00:38:39,217 --> 00:38:42,087 ASTRONAUT: Keep coming up, coming up, coming up. 695 00:38:42,120 --> 00:38:45,323 NARRATOR: Packaged in a module the size of a telephone booth, 696 00:38:45,356 --> 00:38:47,892 the device is key to every other instrument on Hubble 697 00:38:47,926 --> 00:38:50,128 working perfectly. 698 00:38:50,161 --> 00:38:51,963 STORY: The booth just went in, bang, 699 00:38:51,996 --> 00:38:55,333 put the power tool on, it’s done. 700 00:38:55,366 --> 00:38:58,202 ♪ ♪ 701 00:38:58,236 --> 00:38:59,704 NARRATOR: The crew of Endeavor complete 702 00:38:59,737 --> 00:39:01,906 one of the most ambitious repair missions 703 00:39:01,940 --> 00:39:04,676 in the history of space exploration. 704 00:39:04,709 --> 00:39:06,644 MISSION CONTROL: Through your superb efforts, you have really shown 705 00:39:06,678 --> 00:39:10,115 that NASA can do all we promised to do and more. 706 00:39:10,148 --> 00:39:11,816 ED [Archive]: Good job. 707 00:39:14,018 --> 00:39:19,557 NARRATOR: But has Hubble’s eye surgery been successful? 708 00:39:19,591 --> 00:39:22,861 Four days after Endeavor’s triumphant return to Earth, 709 00:39:22,894 --> 00:39:27,966 Hubble’s new camera transmits its first image. 710 00:39:27,999 --> 00:39:29,501 It’s the moment of truth for those 711 00:39:29,534 --> 00:39:33,538 who’ve dedicated their lives to the telescope. 712 00:39:33,571 --> 00:39:36,040 JEFF: And the image comes down and here, 713 00:39:36,074 --> 00:39:41,246 it is coming up on the display... 714 00:39:41,279 --> 00:39:45,016 [All cheering] 715 00:39:45,049 --> 00:39:48,920 And it was right. 716 00:39:48,953 --> 00:39:54,425 I mean, how do you describe that? How do you...? 717 00:39:54,459 --> 00:39:57,696 How do you capture the emotions 718 00:39:57,729 --> 00:40:00,532 when you’ve been a part of something that was built up 719 00:40:00,565 --> 00:40:04,202 with such incredible high hopes? 720 00:40:04,235 --> 00:40:07,839 Man, that was a neat moment. God, that was a neat moment. 721 00:40:07,872 --> 00:40:10,641 ED: Having the first picture come down and prove, 722 00:40:10,675 --> 00:40:12,777 and absolutely prove that we had fixed 723 00:40:12,810 --> 00:40:19,283 the Hubble Space Telescope -- that was a moment of redemption. 724 00:40:19,317 --> 00:40:28,760 I said "Holy [expletive]," and I wasn’t fired for it. 725 00:40:28,793 --> 00:40:32,597 ♪ ♪ 726 00:40:32,630 --> 00:40:34,565 NARRATOR: Over the next quarter-century 727 00:40:34,599 --> 00:40:37,836 Hubble observes more than 30,000 objects 728 00:40:37,869 --> 00:40:41,339 and beams back over half a million images. 729 00:40:41,372 --> 00:40:45,276 Its discoveries transform modern astronomy. 730 00:40:45,310 --> 00:40:46,378 JIM GUNN: And you think about it 731 00:40:46,411 --> 00:40:51,383 and you’re looking 10 billion years back, 732 00:40:51,416 --> 00:40:55,587 and you’re seeing history in front of your eyes as, 733 00:40:55,620 --> 00:41:00,325 as the light comes. It’s an amazing thing. 734 00:41:00,358 --> 00:41:03,962 NARRATOR: Witnessing the birth and death of stars, 735 00:41:03,995 --> 00:41:07,966 confirming the existence of supermassive black holes 736 00:41:07,999 --> 00:41:11,169 and thousands of unknown galaxies 737 00:41:11,202 --> 00:41:14,238 and measuring the age of the universe -- 738 00:41:14,272 --> 00:41:22,447 Hubble’s science and images transfix the world. 739 00:41:22,480 --> 00:41:27,385 Between 1993 and 2009, four further shuttle missions 740 00:41:27,418 --> 00:41:29,954 return to upgrade Hubble. 741 00:41:29,988 --> 00:41:33,692 Aboard two of those is astronaut Mike Massimino. 742 00:41:33,725 --> 00:41:36,261 ASTRONAUT: Okay Mass, you have a go. 743 00:41:36,294 --> 00:41:37,962 MIKE: I think it’s the greatest scientific instrument 744 00:41:37,996 --> 00:41:41,666 ever built, not only because of the science it produces 745 00:41:41,699 --> 00:41:43,901 but because of the engineering that went into it. 746 00:41:43,935 --> 00:41:45,804 MIKE [Archive]: Oh, what a beautiful view. 747 00:41:45,837 --> 00:41:47,305 MIKE: It’s an engineering wonder. 748 00:41:47,338 --> 00:41:48,973 It really is an engineering miracle. 749 00:41:55,079 --> 00:41:58,316 ♪ ♪ 750 00:41:58,349 --> 00:42:00,518 NARRATOR: But after a quarter-century in orbit 751 00:42:00,551 --> 00:42:03,087 and with no more servicing missions planned, 752 00:42:03,121 --> 00:42:05,423 Hubble’s days are numbered. 753 00:42:05,456 --> 00:42:09,026 MISSION CONTROL: And we wish Hubble the very best. 754 00:42:09,060 --> 00:42:13,398 NARRATOR: Now there’s a new kid on the block. 755 00:42:13,431 --> 00:42:17,936 Set for launch in 2018, the James Webb Space Telescope 756 00:42:17,969 --> 00:42:20,839 will extend our window into the universe. 757 00:42:20,872 --> 00:42:22,640 JON ARENBERG: We’re gonna see unprecedented views 758 00:42:22,673 --> 00:42:27,278 of the birth of stars and planets, the origins of life. 759 00:42:27,311 --> 00:42:31,081 NARRATOR: As with Hubble, engineers work tirelessly behind the scenes 760 00:42:31,115 --> 00:42:33,851 to ensure the mission’s success. 761 00:42:33,885 --> 00:42:36,054 JON ARENBERG: The thing that keeps me up at night 762 00:42:36,087 --> 00:42:38,489 is the problem we didn’t think of. 763 00:42:38,523 --> 00:42:41,526 So-called failure of imagination. 764 00:42:41,559 --> 00:42:44,262 NARRATOR: While the James Webb Telescope is the future, 765 00:42:44,295 --> 00:42:46,164 Hubble’s engineering tribulations 766 00:42:46,197 --> 00:42:51,803 and eventual triumph ensure it a prominent place in history. 767 00:42:51,836 --> 00:42:54,305 JEFF: Hubble originally was sold as this instrument 768 00:42:54,338 --> 00:42:56,440 that was going to revolutionize our understanding of 769 00:42:56,474 --> 00:43:00,578 the universe, and it delivered on that promise, I think, 770 00:43:00,611 --> 00:43:06,183 more than anybody could have dreamed. 771 00:43:06,217 --> 00:43:07,985 NARRATOR: And all this has been possible 772 00:43:08,019 --> 00:43:10,855 because of the scientists and engineers 773 00:43:10,888 --> 00:43:18,863 who turned humanity’s dream of a space telescope into reality. 774 00:43:18,896 --> 00:43:21,132 CHARLIE: Commitment to find a way to fix it 775 00:43:21,165 --> 00:43:26,437 is one of the, the great things I’ve ever done in my life. 776 00:43:26,471 --> 00:43:32,077 NARRATOR: The lessons learned transcend engineering and science. 777 00:43:32,110 --> 00:43:35,480 ED: We tried something hard, it’s important, and we screwed up. 778 00:43:35,513 --> 00:43:39,083 And it was such a screw-up that the whole world laughed at us. 779 00:43:39,117 --> 00:43:42,387 But the important thing of that story is perseverance. 780 00:43:42,420 --> 00:43:48,059 We kept trying, and we eventually succeeded. 781 00:43:48,092 --> 00:43:50,661 JIM CROCKER: And that’s a story that we humans love, 782 00:43:50,695 --> 00:43:55,533 and it’s certainly one that I loved having been a part of.