Historical Society Program Looks At Hubble Space Telescope
Historical Society Program Looks At Hubble Space Telescope
Many consider the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) to be among the greatest initiatives of the National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA). The Goodrich Corporation in Danbury (formerly Perkin-Elmer) played a key role in design and development of the telescope and its guidance system.
Linda Abramowicz-Reed, one of the many Goodrich engineers who worked on the program, will present an informal lecture and slide show entitled, âHubble Space Telescope â from Earthly Beginnings through 14 Years in Space.â Sponsored by the Newtown Historical Society, the lecture begins at 7:30 pm on November 8 at the Cyrenius Booth Library, 25 Main Street.
The presentation will cover a large range of topics starting with the advantages of space-based telescopes. The speaker will describe how Hubble works and outline design features that make Hubble serviceable with astronauts and the space shuttles. Special attention is given to Hubbleâs great discoveries in astronomy â from early star formation, to the violent explosions of dying stars, and to the most recent scene of the early universe shortly after the Big Bang.
Hubbleâs current condition and ultimate fate will also be considered.
The speaker will also give a brief overview of the other great observatories currently operating in space. Included in this topic are the Danbury contributions to the success of the Chandra and Spitzer Space Telescopes. Finally the successful process of teaming and sharing of data, observations, and ideas among the three great observatory programs (Hubble, Chandra, and Spitzer) will be mentioned.
Linda Abramowicz-Reed, has more than 20 years of experience on the HST Program. She also worked on earlier NASA programs including the international cooperative program between NASA and ESA known as the International Sun Earth Explorer (ISEE).
All Newtown Historical Society programs are free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served at the programâs conclusion. For further information, call the society at 426-0864.