In the 1920s, as famed astronomer Edwin Hubble was discovering the vastness of the cosmos through the lens of his Earth-bound telescope, others were trying to break free of the planet and its turbulent atmosphere by launching unmanned rockets into space. No one dreamed then the two pursuits would become intertwined decades later when scientists used rocket technology to launch orbiting observatories, including NASA's Hubble Space Telescope.

Hubble, the astronomer, looked beyond the boundaries of our home galaxy, the Milky Way, and discovered that the universe is much larger than we thought. Hubble, the telescope, has peered even farther into the outer reaches of our universe, further enhancing our understanding of the cosmos.

Named for Edwin Hubble, the telescope has brought the universe into view with far greater clarity than ever before. Since its launch in 1990 aboard the space shuttle Discovery, Hubble has confirmed the existence of black holes, refined our knowledge of the age and size of the universe, and stared back to nearly the dawn of time, revealing a jumble of primordial galaxies.

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