April 20, 2000

Kirsten Williams
Headquarters, Washington, DC
(Phone: 202/358-0243)

Eileen Hawley
Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX
(Phone: 281/483-5111)

Release: H00-63

A Decade of Discovery: Hubble Space Telescope -- The Discoveries and the People

NASA will continue its celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Hubble Space Telescope with a series of discussions focusing on the human side of this technological marvel April 25 at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX. The public and media are invited to join NASA employees and local civic and educational leaders in this anniversary forum.

Hubble Space Telescope's spectacular images and discoveries of black holes, colliding galaxies and bizarre objects at the edge of the Universe have been brought into millions of homes by newspapers, television and the Internet.

"The visionary people who created this telescope, along with the creative men and women who repaired it and continue to enhance its capabilities, have provided scientists with a tool which has extended human knowledge well beyond that envisioned by its creators," said Joseph H. Rothenberg, NASA's Associate Administrator for Space Flight. "Hubble has not only vastly changed our understanding of how the universe functions, but clearly demonstrated how humans can work in space for the benefit of mankind on Earth. This event celebrates human vision and creativity as well as the profound discoveries of the telescope itself."

The observance begins at 12:30 p.m. CDT in the Teague Auditorium at Johnson with welcoming statements from NASA Administrator Daniel S. Goldin, Rothenberg, NASA Associate Administrator for Space Science Dr. Edward J. Weiler, and Johnson Space Center Director George W. S. Abbey. Discussion panels with astronauts and scientists associated with Hubble Space Telescope missions will follow.

Milt Heflin, a flight director for the Hubble Space Telescope deployment mission and first servicing mission and currently Deputy Chief of the Flight Director Office at Johnson, will emcee the day's events. Lockheed Martin, manufacturer of the Hubble Space Telescope, will host a reception beginning at 5 p.m. CDT in the lobby of Teague Auditorium.

Media wishing to cover this event should notify the Johnson Newsroom (281/483-5111) by 11 a.m. Friday, April 21, to arrange for accreditation and camera location. The event will not be carried live on NASA Television, although portions of the proceedings will be replayed as STS-101 mission activities allow.

The exact schedule of events follows in Central time. All activities take place in Teague Auditorium.

12:30 p.m. Event Opening Milt Heflin, Mission Operations Directorate

12:40 p.m. Welcoming Remarks George W.S. Abbey, Director, Johnson Space Center

12:50 p.m. Reflections on Hubble Space Telescope Daniel S. Goldin, Administrator, NASA Joseph H. Rothenberg, Associate Administrator, Office of Space Flight Dr. Edward J. Weiler, Associate Administrator, Office of Space Science

1:20 p.m. Question & Answer Opportunity

1:30 p.m. Astronaut Panel Discussion Steven A. Hawley, Mission Specialist, STS-31, STS-82 Kenneth D. Bowersox, Pilot, STS-61; Commander, STS-82 Steven L. Smith, Mission Specialist, STS-82, STS-103 Joseph R. Tanner, Mission Specialist, STS-82 John M. Grunsfeld, Mission Specialist, STS-103 Michael C. Foale, Mission Specialist, STS-103

2:15 p.m. Question & Answer Opportunity

2:30 p.m. Science Panel Discussion Dr. Mario Livio -- "Beauty in Physics and the Accelerating Universe" Dr. Wendy Freedman -- "The Age of the Universe" Dr. John Bahcall -- "Recent Results from Hubble Space Telescope" Dr. Steven Beckwith -- "Young Stars and Planets"

4:45 p.m. Question & Answer Opportunity

5 p.m. Reception hosted by Lockheed Martin

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