The Hubble Space Telescope's Cosmic Revelations

Booz Allen’s design assistance was instrumental in successfully launching the Hubble Space Telescope in April 1990. Since then, the first-of-its-kind orbiting satellite has captured nearly a million awe-inspiring high-resolution images, uncovering scientific secrets from the farthest reaches of our universe.

Our involvement with this mission speaks to our long-standing relationship with NASA, including our assistance with the theoretical launch strategy of Apollo 11 in July 1969. The successful landing of the lunar module resulted in American astronauts making history by becoming the first people to walk on the moon.

Neil Armstrong’s famous declaration of a “giant leap for mankind” led to another significant NASA undertaking—the development of the Large Space Telescope (LST) program.

The main challenge was determining how such a unique telescope could achieve orbit and be serviced and repaired. To address this question, NASA proposed the development of the first space shuttle, Columbia, which could fit the LST in its cargo bay.

The European Space Agency provided 15% of the funding for the LST project. In 1977, Congress approved the remaining funding for what was then the most sophisticated satellite ever constructed. Work on the LST and Columbia programs began in concert.

To achieve these objectives, several NASA locations across the U.S. hosted leading minds from universities and outside contractors, including Booz Allen consultants William Brooks, James Kaidy, and Henry Pierce, among others. Our space practice grew considerably in the following years due to our work with NASA’s Space Station Operations Task Force, which supported numerous projects, including the International Space Station.

Columbia had its first successful mission in April 1981, setting the stage for the LST to be placed into orbit. While the telescope was initially scheduled to launch in 1983, a series of setbacks pushed the timeline to 1986.

During those three years, NASA innovations made it possible to service the telescope in space (rather than reeling it back to Earth, as originally intended). The project was also renamed the Hubble Space Telescope after renowned astronomer Edwin Hubble.

Unfortunately, the tragic Space Shuttle Challenger accident on Jan. 28, 1986, which killed all seven astronauts aboard, delayed the Hubble launch once more. On April 24, 1990, Space Shuttle Discovery successfully carried Hubble to orbit. In 1991, however, it was determined that the telescope required a set of $50 million “corrective spectacles” to address a flaw in its primary mirror. Two years later, the telescope was successfully repaired during a series of historic spacewalks. Initially predicted to last 15 years, Hubble—the size of a school bus and the weight of two grown elephants—is projected to remain in orbit until 2037.

Today, Hubble travels around the earth at five miles per second, the near equivalent of driving from New York to San Francisco in 10 minutes. The telescope has observed distant comets and planets, discovered moons around Pluto, spotted black holes, and provided scientists with data indicating that our universe is nearly 14 billion years old—refining previous estimates that ranged from 7 billion to 20 billion years.

Our defense and civilian space missions—including with the U.S. Space Force, Air Force, NASA, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)—speak to our ongoing commitment to supporting our strategic partners in this all-important and ever-changing field.

“Space today looks very different than it did in the 1960s because now there are far more commercial stakeholders and far lower barriers to entry,” said Booz Allen Executive Vice President Andrea Inserra, leader of our aerospace business.

With missions including Apollo 11, the Hubble Space Telescope, and the 2022 award of the Cybersecurity and Privacy Enterprise Solutions and Services (CyPrESS) contract, we will continue to build upon our valued relationship of more than 60 years with NASA.

“We’re voraciously curious,” said Booz Allen Senior Vice President Josh Perrius, a leader in our national space business. “Booz Allen’s core value of collective ingenuity—a lot of times we think about that as how we use the power of the firm to come together and solve problems, but really we try to extend that. What’s happening in industry? Where are there innovators? Where are there breakthroughs in the science or in the technology that we can leverage to support our clients? And so there’s a lot of looking out, looking around.”

Like the Hubble Space Telescope, we are constantly exploring and capturing data points that allow our clients to redefine what’s possible.