Trouble with Hubble

A revolutionary telescope and the tiny flaw that almost destroyed the dream. Hubble transformed our understanding of the universe. Maggie Aderin tells the dramatic story of one of the most ambitious scientific instruments ever built - and how it almost ended in disaster.

Already delayed by years and millions of dollars over budget, the Hubble Space Telescope is finally ready to launch and change history. It has been heralded as a window on the universe, and promises to answer the most fundamental questions ever asked: How did it all begin? Where are we going? Are we alone? But little does Nasa know that the curvature of one of its mirrors is off by the equivalent of one-fiftieth of the width of a human hair. The result? Blurry images. It will need to be repaired – in space!

Theme music by Hans Zimmer and Christian Lundberg and produced by Russell Emanuel, for Bleeding Fingers Music.

13 Minutes is the space podcast from the BBC World Service, telling epic space stories. It’s produced by the BBC Audio Science Unit.