1-156-393 - Ann Ronan Picture Library/Heritage-Images

The Hubble Space Telescope orbiting the Earth, c1990s. Launched in 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) was designed to see seven times further into space than had been possible before, without the distortion caused by the Earth's atmosphere. Problems with its giant mirror meant that it did not initially work as well as expected. Corrective optics were installed in 1993, greatly improving the telescope's performance, enabling it to view the Universe in unprecedented detail. Credit ARPL/NASA.