Book of the month... January 2016

Looking at the stars

Edwin P Hubble pioneered research that proved the Milky Way was not the only cluster of stars in the Universe. Credited with pushing through a new era of astronomy and astrophysics, Hubble’s work was honoured by the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), launched into orbit in 1990 and still in operation. Over the years it has recorded some of the most detailed visible-light images ever made, allowing us to delve deeper into space and time. 

In celebration of the 25th anniversary of the launch of the Hubble telescope in 2015, Haynes has released its own ‘technical manual’ that, while running at just 180 pages, feels exhaustive in its factual content. 

Beginning with a brief biography of the telescope’s namesake, Nasa Hubble Space Telescope Owner’s Workshop Manual takes you from the telescope’s design and development, through its launch and deployment, to its successor: the James Webb Space Telescope. 

Written by David Baker, who worked with Nasa on the Gemini, Apollo and Space Shuttle programmes between 1965 and 1990, the manual provides a fascinating insight into all of HST’s key components, systems and instruments. Discover the design of the complex Optical Telescope Assembly – taking four-million hours over seven years to put together – or learn about the Faint Object Camera, which has produced some of the most stunning images of space ever seen. 

The manual is a fantastic record of a piece of space history. The only downside is a tendency to overuse acronyms.

Full of substance as well as style, this is a coffee-table book that any engineer would be proud to own.

Nasa Hubble Space Telescope Owner’s Workshop Manual by David Baker is published by Haynes Publishing at £22.99; www.haynes.co.uk