The Hubble Telescope has revolutionised our understanding of the Universe. It has, among many other achievements, revealed thousands of galaxies in what seemed to be empty patches of sky and measured precisely how fast the universe is expanding.

In this talk, the first American woman to walk in space, Kathryn D Sullivan, recounts how the team of astronauts, engineers and flight controllers helped launch, rescue and maintain Hubble, the most productive observatory ever built. Her book, 'Handprints on Hubble: An Astronaut's Story of Invention' is available now.

This talk was recorded from our theatre at the Royal Institution on the 6th of March, 2020.

Ri Science Podcast episodes are released on the last Wednesday of every month, and our new ‘From the Theatre’ episodes are released on the second Wednesday of the month. Subscribe to be notified as soon as the next episode is released! 

• Book tickets to upcoming talks on our website 

• Subscribe to our YouTube channel 

• Follow us: @ri_science on Instagram and TikTok