The top space stories of the week!

Hubble celebrates a generation of time in space, Starlink satellites launch again with new dimming measures expected soon, and NASA warns eager spaceflight watchers to stay away from Florida during an upcoming astronaut launch. All this, and more top stories this week from Space.com.

Hubble marks 30 years of amazing astronomy — and it keeps going

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(Image credit: NASA)

The NASA-European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope is still going strong after celebrating 30 years in space, and keeps shifting our perception of the universe. Its various discoveries include examples such as showing that the universe is accelerating, finding strong evidence of supermassive black holes in galaxy centers, and tracking changes in gas giant planets in the outer areas of the solar system. The telescope is still expected to do observations for many years, even though its last servicing visit by astronauts was more than 10 years ago.

Full story: The Hubble Space Telescope and 30 years that transformed our view of the universe

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(Image credit: SpaceX)

NASA chief Jim Bridenstine asked space fans to stay away from the Titusville, Florida area (near Orlando) for the expected first launch of the Crew Dragon spacecraft in May, with astronauts on board. The concern is that the novel coronavirus could cause illness in any crowds gathering to watch the launch. Florida has not seen a launch of astronauts since the last space shuttle mission, STS-135, in 2011. Astronauts have been using facilities in Baikonur, Kazakhstan to reach the International Space Station.

Full story: NASA chief to space fans: Don’t travel to Florida to watch SpaceX’s 1st astronaut launch

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(Image credit: SpaceX)

SpaceX’s bright Starlink broadband satellites will soon launch with a shade to greatly reduce the possible disruption to astronomy. The company plans to launch 12,000 satellites to low Earth orbit and has applied for permission to send 30,000 more into space. In recent months, various astronomical groups and astronomers have said Starlink could hurt scientific observations, as well as Native American cultures that use the night sky as part of their heritage.

Full story: SpaceX’s Starlink satellites will soon get glare-reducing ‘sunshades,’ Elon Musk says

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(Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

Engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory produced a prototype ventilator in just 37 days, in an effort to fight the novel coronavirus pandemic. The machine passed a key test this week at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. The agency is now petitioning the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for fast-track approval, as well as seeking private manufacturing partners.

Full story: NASA engineers build new COVID-19 ventilator in 37 days

Interstellar heist brought asteroids into our solar system

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(Image credit: NASA/NEAR Shoemaker)

It looks like our solar system has several interstellar residents. New analysis of the orbits of Centaurs, which are asteroids that orbit the sun between Jupiter and Saturn, suggest they came from outside of our solar system early in the universe’s history. Stars were closer together, billions of years ago, and it was easier for them to snatch material from each other’s neighborhood.

Full story: Our solar system stole asteroids from interstellar space when it was young, scientists say

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(Image credit: SpaceX)

Starlink, the broadband constellation of satellites from SpaceX, keeps getting bigger and more powerful with each launch. A Falcon 9 rocket hefted 60 more of the satellites into orbit as SpaceX eventually targets having at least 12,000 in orbit. The launch this week also saw the Falcon 9 landing safely back on Earth, allowing for use on some future mission.

Full story: SpaceX launches 60 Starlink satellites, aces rocket landing in milestone flight

Follow Elizabeth Howell on Twitter @howellspace . Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook .

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