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This Saturday (April 24th) marked the 20th anniversary of the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope into orbit aboard Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-31). For two decades scientists have been studying far away images of nebulas, stars, and galaxies captured by Hubble.

“The Hubble Space Telescope is a marvelous achievement and has made so many wonderful contributions to our study of space,” said Congressman Bill Posey. “The images and information provided by Hubble has been a valuable tool for scientists; answering some of our greatest questions about universe and challenging us to explore it further.”

Named after American astronomer, Edwin Hubble, the Hubble Telescope is a collaboration between NASA and the European Space Agency. Hubble is the only telescope to ever be maintained in space by astronauts. On five occasions astronauts aboard NASA’s Space Shuttle have serviced Hubble with the latest servicing mission completed just last year.

Hubble captures its images in orbit outside of the distortion of Earth’s atmosphere and away from the background light. One of its greatest discoveries has been accurately determining the rate of expansion of the universe. In 2014 Hubble’s successor, the James Webb Space Telescope, is due to be launched.

For more the latest news on the Hubble Space Telescope, please click HERE.