Space Telescope Science Institute Celebrates Its 40th Anniversary
Forty years ago in 1981, the first space shuttle launched, the Voyager 2 space probe encountered Saturn, and in Baltimore, Maryland, the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) was founded. In that year, NASA selected a proposal by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy to establish STScI on the Johns Hopkins University Homewood campus.
STScI began its life as the home of science operations for NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. Since Hubble’s 1990 launch, the institute has processed and distributed Hubble’s data and shared Hubble’s images and discoveries with the world. As it celebrates its 40th anniversary, STScI is looking forward to the future and its added responsibilities for mission and science operations of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, as well as science operations for NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope.
