April 25 · This Day in America
Three hundred and eighty miles above Earth, higher than any shuttle has flown, the crew of Discovery lifts a school-bus-sized telescope out of the cargo bay on a robotic arm and lets it go. It tumbles free, unfolds its golden solar wings, and turns its single great eye toward the dark. For the first time, humanity has a camera above the smear of its own atmosphere — nothing between the lens and the beginning of time. There will be a flaw in the mirror, and years of doubt, and a daring repair. But Hubble will go on to photograph galaxies being born, to clock the age of the universe, to find a thousand worlds. A generation grows up with its pictures on their bedroom walls. We built something that could see almost all the way back to the start, and then we shared the view with everyone.
Source: science.nasa.gov
Also on this day · 1898
Congress votes a declaration of war against Spain, backdated to the day the blockade of Cuba began. The fighting lasts barely sixteen weeks. When it ends, Spain's old empire is gone and the United States holds Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines — a republic born in revolt against empire suddenly running one of its own. The argument over what that meant would shape the American century.
Source: history.state.gov