NASA Celebrate’s Hubble’s 21st Birthday

Hubble Space Telescope is possibly one of the longest unmanned space vehicles to be used continuously for this long and even after 21 years Hubble is showing no signs of stopping. Ever since Hubble launched 21 years ago it has been providing Earth with astounding photographs and images and even today Hubble is still making incredible discoveries and providing incredible pictures.

The original plan for Hubble was to simply explore deep space by monitoring and relaying images back to Earth but as the years passed Hubble has turned into a fulltime space telescope which is being used to find far away galaxies for future study. This week Hubble even managed to discover what could be the oldest and farthest away galaxy we have ever seen.

The galaxy in question is apparently as much as tens of thousands of light years away. This is an astonishing discovery because previously there were no known objects this far away from our current position. Obviously NASA is still going to continue with studies but unfortunately given the distance of the galaxy it is nearly impossible to find out much about what it contains.

As for other notable discoveries Hubble has numerous. Possibly the biggest contribution however is simply the incredible images provided by the Hubble Space Telescope; textbooks, movies and TV shows are filled with images from Hubble and fortunately thanks to recent upgrades and repairs it looks like Hubble will be able to continue providing us with astounding images for years to come.

Astronauts Will Wear Giffords Bracelet in Space

Earlier this year the political world was struck by a large shooting in Arizona; in the shooting Arizona Representative, Gabrielle Giffords, was shot and wounded severely. For the past few months she has been recovering well and doctors have hope that she will be able to go to her husband’s upcoming Space Shuttle mission.

As a sign of support Giffords’ husband even managed to get the crew of the upcoming Space Shuttle Endeavor mission to wear a special bracelet. The bracelet is light blue and simply says “Gabby” but the support being offered is truly astounding; there are also talks that the bracelet may be offered for public sale to raise funds for charity though at this time the possibility has not materialized yet.

The upcoming flight will carry a standard sized crew, all of which will be wearing the bracelet to remember the horrible shooting. Unfortunately at this time it is still unknown whether or not Giffords will actually be able to attend the shuttle launch and doctors say they may not be able to say for sure until the launch gets closer.

Giffords’ husband, Mark Kelly, says he fully intends to continue with the mission as scheduled as it is the right thing to do; reports indicate that Giffords has expressed the same sentiment for her husband.  The exact date of the upcoming launch is also unknown due to some unfinished inspections for the Space Shuttle. As NASA finishes their final inspection of the spacecraft they will announce an official launch date.

Representative Giffords Recovering Well

Two months ago Representative Gabrielle Giffords was in the hospital after a political activist attempted to murder her on the street. Fortunately today we have learned that Giffords’ recovery is going well and she plans to attend her husband’s upcoming space shuttle launch.

Giffords’ husband, Mark Kelly, is currently scheduled to be the captain for the space shuttle mission in April. Originally medical experts were concerned that she might not recover in time to see it but today her press team officially confirmed that she will be attending.

Following the announcement NASA officially announced that they will be doing everything possible to assist her and the entire family at the launch. Giffords is still undergoing extensive recovery and rehabilitation services though the actual results are incredibly promising right now. Overall the terrible event from two months ago has been greatly overshadowed by the exceptional recovery she has undergone.

As April draws nearer the Giffords family is expected to continue updating the public on her condition. At this time all signs point towards a successful and speedy recovery so there should be no major mishaps in her future. In the end the story has turned out much better than doctors originally expected; previously there was little hope for Giffords to recover but now it is almost a 100% success for her and her family.