By what sequence of mishaps did the Hubble Space Telescope acquire its unfortunate spherical aberration? And how did this severe optical flaw escape notice until after the HST was launched into orbit last spring? These were the two principal questions set out for the HST Optical Systems Board of Investigation convened by NASA at the end of June, shortly after it became clear that the Hubble telescope was hobbled by half a wavelength of spherical aberration. (See PHYSICS TODAY, August, page 17.)
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© 1990 American Institute of Physics.
1990
American Institute of Physics
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