Hubble at the Stanback

Russ Werneth, The Hubble's "Fix-It Guy"

The former Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Manager for EVA (that's NASA-speak for Extra Vehicular Activity, or "spacewalk"), Russell L. Werneth, was at SCSU's IP Stanback Museum and Planetarium recently helping in the installation of the exhibition Hubble Space Telescope: New Views of the Universe, which begins with a recepton Saturday, March 1, 2008 at 6PM, and will continue through June 15, 2008.

Werneth developed the unique tools and trained the astronauts for the project at the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) in Greenbelt, Maryland for all 4 of the HST servicing missions. And every time there was a servicing mission, Werneth says, the Hubble became a new telescope, because of the new cameras, computer systems, and other instrumentation that were upgraded, repaired, or replaced. It is constantly evolving into a better telescope with the ability to see more as time goes on. As technology improves, so does Hubble. There is a Space Shuttle mission scheduled for August 2008 for yet another upgrade.

The spectacular images that have come back from Hubble since 1990 have led to new discoveries in science, so much so that in many instances it has made the information in textbooks obsolete. Views from the Hubble have led to new knowledge about galaxies, star systems, star formations, the age of the universe, new information about planets and galaxies, and new theories about the Big Bang Theory; all that have been discovered since the Hubble went into orbit 300 miles above the earth in April 1990.

Werneth would like to see NASA continue on its mission of exploration. "I think it's human nature to explore, and there are things yet to discover that we cannot even imagine. We always have to be exploring and learning. I think the moon should be developed as a
base, using a combination of robotic and human labor. I think we have to do it in steps, as we develop the technology to make humans able to go to Mars, we will get benefits here on Earth. We also need to inform people what those many benefits are. We need to realize there are things we don't know yet that will help us live a better life here on Earth."

Werneth, now an SGT, Inc. employee in Greenbelt, Maryland, travels to museums and educational venues and speaks to the public, informing all about what the Hubble Space Telescope has done for us, and to the many benefits that have come from the astronaut spacewalks and HST's never-blinking lens.