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A spiral galaxy with an oval-shaped disk. Two large arms curve out away from the ends of the disk. Bright pink patches and dark reddish threads of dust fill the arms. The bright pink patches indicate where stars are forming. The core is very bright and filled with stars. Some large stars appear in front of the galaxy. Directly under the point where the right arm joins the disk, a fading supernova is visible as a green dot.
Hubble image of the Eagle Nebula, also called "The Pillars of Creation"

Hubble Space Telescope
Oral Histories

The oral history interviews listed below represent the contributions of a wide selection of individuals involved in the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) program, and also include interviews collected by Christopher Gainor for his book, Not Yet Imagined, A Study of Hubble Space Telescope Operations.

Read Not Yet Imagined about Hubble Space Telescope
Oral Histories

The NASA History Office collects oral history interviews to document the experiences of individuals who were involved in every aspect of NASA’s programs and missions, and include lessons learned, science and engineering objectives, methodologies, team dynamics, and management decisions.

Titles listed reflect the positions that the subject held while involved with the program.

NameInterview DatesTitle
Thomas R. Ayers9/23/15Astronomer, University of Colorado
Steven Beckwith9/26/16Director,
Space Telescope Science Institute
Charles F. Bolden1/6/04,
1/15/04
9/24/14
3/6/15
3/18/16
Pilot, STS-31, HST deployment
NASA Administrator
Michele Brekke6/20/17
7/20/17
8/17/17
8/24/17
Assistant Mission Manager
STS-31, HST deployment
Randolph H. Brinkley1/15/98
1/25/98
5/1/13
2/23/16
2/24/16
Mission Director, STS-61
HST Servicing Mission 1
Frank J. Cepollina6/11/13
5/8/15
Satellite Servicing Project Manager
Richard O. Covey11/1/06
11/15/06
2/7/07
3/28/07
Commander, STS-61
HST Servicing Mission 1
Alphonso V. Diaz4/12/17
6/6/17
Associate Administrator
Science Mission Directorate
Lee D. Feinberg7/3/18Optical Engineer
HST Servicing Mission 1, 2
Lennard A. Fisk9/8/10
9/9/10
Associate Administrator
Space Science and Applications
Jeffrey M. Hanley2/3/16
2/11/16
Flight Director
HST Servicing Mission 1, 2
David N. Haskins6/15/16HST Payload Data Engineer
Electrical Power System Engineer
Steven A. Hawley12/4/02
12/17/02
1/14/03
Mission Specialist
STS-31, HST deployment
STS-82, HST Servicing Mission 2
J. Milton Heflin3/9/98
6/3/03
5/23/17
5/30/17
8/15/17
10/17/17
Lead Flight Director, STS-61
HST Servicing Mission 1
Noel W. Hinners8/18/10
8/19/10
NASA Headquarters Chief Scientist
Jeffrey F. Hoffman4/2/09
11/3/09
11/12/09
11/17/10
EVA crewmember, STS-61
Hubble Servicing Mission 1
John D. Holt11/3/04
12/1/04
2/2/05
Mission Director, STS-103
HST Servicing Mission 3
Chairman, HST Shuttle Servicing Mission Review
Chairman, HST Deorbit/Robotic Servicing Review
Frank E. Hughes8/29/13
9/10/13
9/17/13
9/25/13
9/30/13
10/8/13
10/29/13
11/18/13
11/21/13
Chief, Space Flight Training Division
Johnson Space Center
James F. Jeletic5/19/17Deputy Project Manager, HST
James B. Odom7/20/10Manager,
Hubble Space Telescope Project
William F. Readdy3/20/12Associate Administrator,
Space Operations Mission Directorate
Nancy Grace Roman9/15/00Chief of Astronomy,
Office of Space Science
Joseph H. Rothenberg3/12/04
9/27/16
HST Operations Manager
Associate Director, HST Flight Projects
Loren J. Shriver12/16/02
12/18/02
Commander, STS-31
HST deployment
Kathryn D. Sullivan5/10/07
9/11/07
3/12/08
5/28/09
Mission Specialist
STS-31, HST deployment
Raymond Villard10/30/15
11/4/16
News Chief,
Space Telescope Science Institute
Edward J. Weiler10/31/07
10/24/16
4/4/17
Chief Scientist, Hubble Space Telescope
The transcripts available on this site are created from audio-recorded oral history interviews. To preserve the integrity of the audio record, the transcripts are presented with limited revisions and thus reflect the candid conversational style of the oral history format. Brackets and ellipses indicate where the text has been annotated or edited for clarity. Any personal opinions expressed in the interviews should not be considered the official views or opinions of NASA, the NASA History Office, NASA historians, or staff members.