Hubble Space Telescope marks 25th anniversary in orbit this week, a crowning glory for NASA

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – One of NASA’s crowning glories, the Hubble Space Telescope, marks its 25th anniversary this week.

The telescope has made more than 1 million observations in the last quarter-century, including those of some of the farthest and oldest galaxies ever beheld by humanity. It’s travelled 3.4 billion miles and circled Earth nearly 137,000 times.

A full decade in the making, Hubble rocketed into orbit on April 24, 1990, aboard space shuttle Discovery. Shuttle astronauts visited the 350-mile-high observatory five times to make improvements and repairs.

NASA is celebrating Friday’s anniversary with ceremonies this week at the Smithsonian Institution and Newseum in Washington.

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