Kirsten Williams

Headquarters, Washington, DC April 20, 2000

(Phone: 202/358-0243)

Eileen Hawley
Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX
(Phone: 281/483-5111)

RELEASE: 00-63

A DECADE OF DISCOVERY: HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE --

THE DISCOVERIES AND THE PEOPLE

NASA will continue its celebration of the 10th anniversary of

the Hubble Space Telescope with a series of discussions focusing
on the human side of this technological marvel April 25 at the
Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX. The public and media are
invited to join NASA employees and local civic and educational
leaders in this anniversary forum.

Hubble Space Telescope's spectacular images and discoveries

of black holes, colliding galaxies and bizarre objects at the edge
of the Universe have been brought into millions of homes by
newspapers, television and the Internet.

"The visionary people who created this telescope, along with

the creative men and women who repaired it and continue to enhance
its capabilities, have provided scientists with a tool which has
extended human knowledge well beyond that envisioned by its
creators," said Joseph H. Rothenberg, NASA's Associate
Administrator for Space Flight. "Hubble has not only vastly
changed our understanding of how the universe functions, but
clearly demonstrated how humans can work in space for the benefit
of mankind on Earth. This event celebrates human vision and
creativity as well as the profound discoveries of the telescope
itself."

The observance begins at 1:30 p.m. EDT in the Teague

Auditorium at Johnson with welcoming statements from NASA
Administrator Daniel S. Goldin, Rothenberg, NASA Associate
Administrator for Space Science Dr. Edward J. Weiler, and Johnson
Space Center Director George W. S. Abbey. Discussion panels with
astronauts and scientists associated with Hubble Space Telescope
missions will follow.
 Milt Heflin, a flight director for the Hubble Space Telescope
deployment mission and first servicing mission and currently
Deputy Chief of the Flight Director Office at Johnson, will emcee
the day's events. Lockheed Martin, manufacturer of the Hubble
Space Telescope, will host a reception beginning at 6 p.m. EDT in
the lobby of Teague Auditorium.

Media wishing to cover this event should notify the Johnson

Newsroom (281/483-5111) by noon Friday, April 21, to arrange for
accreditation and camera location. The event will not be carried
live on NASA Television, although portions of the proceedings will
be replayed as STS-101 mission activities allow.

The exact schedule of events follows in Eastern time. All

activities take place in Teague Auditorium.

1:30 p.m. Event Opening

Milt Heflin, Mission Operations Directorate

1:40 p.m. Welcoming Remarks

George W.S. Abbey, Director, Johnson Space Center

1:50 p.m. Reflections on Hubble Space Telescope

Daniel S. Goldin, Administrator, NASA
Joseph H. Rothenberg, Associate Administrator, Office
of Space Flight
Dr. Edward J. Weiler, Associate Administrator, Office
of Space Science

2:20 p.m. Question & Answer Opportunity

2:30 p.m. Astronaut Panel Discussion

Steven A. Hawley, Mission Specialist, STS-31, STS-82
Kenneth D. Bowersox, Pilot, STS-61; Commander, STS-82
Steven L. Smith, Mission Specialist, STS-82, STS-103
Joseph R. Tanner, Mission Specialist, STS-82
John M. Grunsfeld, Mission Specialist, STS-103
Michael C. Foale, Mission Specialist, STS-103

3:15 p.m. Question & Answer Opportunity

3:30 p.m. Science Panel Discussion

Dr. Mario Livio -- "Beauty in Physics and the
Accelerating Universe"
Dr. Wendy Freedman -- "The Age of the Universe"
 Dr. John Bahcall -- "Recent Results from Hubble Space
Telescope"
Dr. Steven Beckwith -- "Young Stars and Planets"

5:45 p.m. Question & Answer Opportunity

6 p.m. Reception hosted by Lockheed Martin

-end-