From early star gazing through primitive telescopes to t
test rockets to sophisticated satellites, the human expansion into space is perhaps the most amazing engineering feat of the 20th century. The development of space technology has thrilled the world, expanded our knowledge base, and improved our capabilities. Thousand of useful products and services have resulted from space technology, including medical devices, improved weather forecasting, and wireless communications.
English scientist Roger Bacon first described the fundamental optical principles of the telescope in the 13th century. Dutch spectacle-maker Hans Lippershey is credited
with inventing the first telescope in the year 1608, when he discovered that a distant object appeared to be much closer when viewed through a concave lens and a convex
lens held in front of each other. He mounted the lenses in a tube to make the first refracting telescope.
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