The Man Behind the Machine Lyman Spitzer, Jr. (1914—1997), a
world-renowned theoretical astrophysicist, developed the concept
of a telescope in space. In 1946 more than a decade before the
launch of the first satellite Spitzer proposed the development
of a large, space-based observatory that would not be hindered
by Earth's atmospheric distortion and span a broad range of
wavelengths. This lofty vision ultimately became the Hubble
Space Telescope. Spitzer was instrumental in the design and
development of the Hubble Space Telescope. Throughout the 1960s
and 1970s, he was an enthusiastic lobbyist for the telescope,
both with Congress and the scientific community. Even after
Hubble's launch in 1990, Spitzer remained deeply involved in the
program. Not only did he make some important astronomical
observations with the telescope that was essentially his
brainchild, but he also spent a great deal of time right up
until the end of his life analyzing Hubble data. In addition to
space astronomy, Spitzer's work greatly