The Universe In A Mirror: The Saga Of The Hubble Space Telescope And The Visionaries Who Built It Download Free (EPUB, PDF)
The Hubble Space Telescope has produced the most stunning images of the cosmos humanity has ever seen. It has transformed our understanding of the universe around us, revealing new information about its age and evolution, the life cycle of stars, and the very existence of black holes, among other startling discoveries. The Universe in a Mirror tells the story of this telescope and the visionaries responsible for its extraordinary accomplishments. Robert Zimmerman takes readers behind the scenes of one of the most ambitious scientific instruments ever sent into space. After World War II, astronomer Lyman Spitzer and a handful of scientists waged a fifty-year struggle to build the first space telescope capable of seeing beyond Earth's atmospheric veil. Zimmerman shows how many of the telescope's advocates sacrificed careers and family to get it launched, and how others devoted their lives to Hubble only to have their hopes and reputations shattered when its mirror was found to be flawed. This is the story of an idea that would not die--and of the dauntless human spirit. Illustrated with striking color images, The Universe in a Mirror describes the heated battles between scientists and bureaucrats, the perseverance of astronauts to repair and maintain the telescope, and much more. Hubble, and the men and women behind it, opened a rare window onto the universe, dazzling humanity with sights never before seen. This book tells their remarkable story.
Hardcover: 312 pages
Publisher: Princeton University Press; First Edition edition (May 11, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0691132976
ISBN-13: 978-0691132976
Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.6 x 1 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #844,738 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #81 in Books > Science & Math > Experiments, Instruments & Measurement > Scientific Instruments #430 in Books > Textbooks > Engineering > Aeronautical Engineering #431 in Books > Engineering & Transportation > Engineering > Aerospace > Astronautics & Space Flight
The Universe in a Mirror: The Saga of the Hubble Space Telescope and the Visionaries Who Built ItThis book describes the Hubble Telescope Program and its predecessors in a most thorough and beautifully written exposition of NASA's efforts and problems in constructing the telescope. Unfortunately, in accordance with NASA's policies, it only contains the activities and decisions made by NASA management.As I was Chief Engineer at Itek Optical Systems for the competing Large Space Telescope Program, the Hubble's predecessor, many technical problems were created by NASA's program management and convoluted approach to budget management, as explained by Mr. Zimmermann. The Large Space Telescope was a 3 meter aperture telescope very similar to the Hubble excepting for its much larger size. There were no 3 meter test facilities available in the country for full aperture high vacuum testing of the primary mirror. The projected cost of the 3 meter aperture LST far exceeded the amount that NASA thought was available. The NASA management opted for a null lens testing arrangement for the primary mirror construction which, as explained in Zimmermann's book, led to grinding and polishing the primary mirror to an incorrect prescription.Furthermore, the aperture of the Hubble Telescope was reduced to 2 meters to take advantage of a classified test facility. A colleage of mine who had formerly worked for Perkin Elmer, the maker of the Hubble, told me of the testing failures that had occurred there, and his subsequent role explaining the problem to Congress in an investigation of the program.
Quick: name a satellite. If you can think of one name, it is probably the Hubble, officially the Hubble Space Telescope, and the reason you might know of it by name when all those other communications and positioning satellites are up there (and also the International Space Station) is that images from Hubble are part of popular culture as well as scientific culture. Hubble has been an amazing success, but often just barely. It took a long time in coming, and might at any point in the planning stage have been shifted aside for other space goals. The complicated story of how Hubble got planned and launched and repaired is told with enthusiasm and detail in _The Universe in a Mirror: The Saga of the Hubble Space Telescope and the Visionaries Who Built It_ (Princeton University Press). Hubble is not just beloved by the public, it has been an extraordinary research tool, and deserves this fine biography, which tells a great deal not only about the gadget but about the boffins who made it all happen.There are good reasons to have a telescope in space, mainly the avoidance of the distortion and filtering of the Earth's atmosphere. An orbiting telescope got a realistic proposal in 1946 with a paper for RAND by Lyman Spitzer, an astronomer who was ending up some sonar research after the war. Spitzer remembered thirty years later, "Most astronomers didn't take it seriously. They thought I was sort of ... wild-eyed or wide-eyed, one or the other." Zimmerman details the scientific and engineering planning and also the lobbying and horse-trading that had to go on to get the Hubble built and launched. It is a confusing tale, reflecting the peculiar mindset of the bureaucracy.
The Universe in a Mirror: The Saga of the Hubble Space Telescope and the Visionaries Who Built It Space 2015 Calendar: Views from the Hubble Telescope A Glimpse of Heaven 2016: Biblical Words of Inspiration and Images from the Hubble Telescope Galileo's Glassworks: The Telescope and the Mirror Hubble's Universe: Greatest Discoveries and Latest Images Hubble: A New Window to the Universe The Hubble Cosmos: 25 Years of New Vistas in Space Space Telescope (New True Books) Hubble and the Big Bang: Scientific Discoveries Hubble Stitch: Instructions & Inspiration for this Creative New Lace Beadwork Technique His Majesty 2: The Carson Brothers Saga (His Majesty: The Carson Brothers Saga) His Majesty 3: The Carson Brother's Saga (His Majesty: The Carson Brothers Saga) Rad American Women A-Z: Rebels, Trailblazers, and Visionaries who Shaped Our History . . . and Our Future! (City Lights/Sister Spit) Players: The Story of Sports and Money, and the Visionaries Who Fought to Create a Revolution Rad American Women A-Z: Rebels, Trailblazers, and Visionaries Who Shaped Our History...and Our Future! Sonic Universe 7: Silver Saga Jeweler: Masters, Mavericks, and Visionaries of Modern Design The World Is Waiting for You: Graduation Speeches to Live By from Activists, Writers, and Visionaries Business Model Generation: A Handbook for Visionaries, Game Changers, and Challengers The Big Roads: The Untold Story of the Engineers, Visionaries, and Trailblazers Who Created the American Superhighways
