Forty-five years ago today — April 8, 1966 — an Atlas Agena rocket launched from Cape Canaveral and placed the OAO-1 space telescope in a “nearly perfect circular orbit.” (Artist’s conception of OAO-1. NASA image.) The first of the orbiting observatories that would be precursors to the Hubble Space Telescope, … Continue reading Space History: First Orbiting Astronomical Observatory