Johnston, Peter J.2014-03-142014-03-141992-07-05etd-01312009-063039http://hdl.handle.net/10919/40825In this thesis I describe a period in the Hubble Space Telescope's history during which a relatively small number of astronomers worked to encourage their colleagues to support the telescope project. I analyze astronomers' behavior in terms of the various problems which they faced. I argue that astronomical community came to support the project in part because the telescope's advocates succeeded in separating technological issues from economic ones. I also suggest that separating these two kinds of issues may have contributed to the circumstances which led to the telescope's well-publicized defects.iv, 83 leavesBTDapplication/pdfenIn CopyrightLD5655.V855 1992.J646Astronomers -- United States -- History -- 20th centuryTelescopes -- United States -- History -- 20th centuryThesishttp://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-01312009-063039/