Louise Bernard, with Alexis Patri 10:56 a.m., June 01, 2022

France 5 looks Thursday evening at a historic space adventure with the documentary "The Odyssey of Hubble, an eye in the stars".

Its director Laurent Lichtenstein explains to the microphone of Europe 1 why this scientific epic, which mobilized 200,000 people, has lastingly transformed humanity.

Hubble is a science star.

This telescope, sent into orbit 30 years ago, provides the most beautiful pictures of space, similar to paintings.

Above all, Hubble has allowed and still allows incredible scientific discoveries, especially on black holes.

This is what the documentary broadcast Thursday evening on France 5 tells. But not only.

Because Hubble has an incredible story that the film retraces like a biopic, where Hubble becomes a real character, very humanized. 

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We discover the difficulties encountered by Hubble since its inception.

Once finally operational, NASA discovers that its camera is blurry.

While its role is to transmit images.

We therefore discover the repair missions, to prolong the life of Hubble.

For director Laurent Lichtenstein, this is one of the most beautiful science stories that can be told.

Protests to keep Hubble in orbit

"It's the journey of a hero who will face problems, who will overcome them. For years and years, Hubble had to win back scientists and the public," he recalls at the microphone. 'Europe 1. "It was so successful that when George Bush wanted to de-orbit Hubble in 2005, people took to the streets to defend it. So it's a magnificent story. Above all, it's a human story: the project started in 1947 and involved, over the long term, 200,000 people. They all dedicated part of their lives to keeping Hubble in orbit."

Engineers and astronauts testify in the documentary.

They talk about Hubble as a friend.

The result is touching and captivating, because the numerous video archives hold you spellbound throughout the documentary.

Many, because everything was filmed by NASA.

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Hubble, the telescope that revolutionized humanity

"We have both images of the development of Hubble and extremely spectacular images of the five repairs in space. We see these species of space mechanics who risk their lives with each intervention", explains to our microphone Laurent Lichtenstein.

“We also see the joy of scientists time and time again when pictures come in. The fact that we have a lot of pictures helps to tell the story of a pop icon who changed our outlook, rather than the cold story of a scientific instrument.

It is true that Hubble images have made a lasting impression on popular culture.

They are found on T-shirts, toilet lids, flip-flops.

Hubble has established a strong connection between the public and the cosmos.

The telescope provided the first color images of space, images that fascinate with their beauty. 

The documentary

Hubble's Odyssey, an eye in the stars 

is to be discovered Thursday evening at 9 p.m. on France 5.