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IN ITS 18 years in orbit, the Hubble Space Telescope has transformed astronomy and fired the public imagination with its astonishing views of the cosmos. So it’s hard to believe that its father, Lyman Spitzer, had a tough time getting his colleagues interested in the concept. Zimmerman tells the tale of Hubble’s bumpy road toorbit, the dramatic rescue mission to fix its vision, and the campaign that won it a fourth servicing mission. He spends less time on Hubble’s discoveries than on details of committees. Still, it is a fascinating inside look at how the great observatory came to be.