The document discusses the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). It provides background on the telescope, including its cost of $4.5-6 billion, specifications like a 2.4 meter primary mirror, and launch aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery in 1990. The HST allows astronomers to make high resolution observations of planets, stars and galaxies in ultraviolet and infrared light not visible from the ground. While it provided sharper images than ground telescopes, the primary mirror was initially ground to the wrong shape, requiring corrective lenses. Over time, the HST has contributed greatly to measuring celestial distances and verifying the expansion of the universe, but is nearing the end of its lifespan and will be replaced by the James Webb Space