The astronomy has been revolutionized by the Hubble Space Telescope, which had a very fuzzy beginning nearly 20 years ago yet today, is stirring the global imagination via its stunning images.

The good news is that the well known telescope is all geared up for its final chapter, starting with the scheduled May 12 launch of the space shuttle Atlantis for NASA's fifth and final service mission to the telescope.

Julianne Dalcanton, a University of Washington (UW) associate professor of astronomy, who has used the telescope for much of her research reported, “The repairs will provide Hubble with a future as bright, though perhaps not nearly as long, as its past.”

If adhere to a UW release, she attribute the success of Hubble to the fact that it orbits nearly 560 km above the earth, far removed from the atmosphere and ambient light that limit the effectiveness of ground-based telescopes.

She further added, “The upcoming servicing mission will likely allow Hubble to add to its already rich legacy of scientific discovery.”

Back on 24th April, 1990, Hubble was launched as a JV of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Space Telescope Science Institute. However, the mission got a very shaky start as it was found that an error had been made in fabricating the main mirror and its images were often fuzzy at best.

On the NASA's first service mission in 1993, this problem was solved and since then, the telescope has been wildly successful.

Dalcanton informed, “The upcoming service mission, among other things, will replace gyroscopes and heat shields, upgrade instruments and add some spiffy new capabilities that will allow us to make much deeper observations.”