Hubble Space Telescope Launched
April 24, 1990 · 20th Century
On April 24, 1990, Space Shuttle Discovery carried the Hubble Space Telescope into low Earth orbit at an altitude of 380 statute miles. Built jointly by NASA and the European Space Agency, Hubble carried a 2.4-meter primary mirror. Within months, engineers discovered spherical aberration in the mirror, producing blurred images. A 1993 servicing mission installed corrective optics, restoring full capability. Five total servicing missions through 2009 upgraded instruments and extended operations. Hubble has observed objects up to 13.4 billion light-years away across ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared wavelengths.
Key Figures
Loren J. ShriverCharles F. Bolden Jr.Bruce McCandless IIKathryn D. SullivanSteven A. Hawley
Locations
Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39BNASA Goddard Space Flight CenterSpace Telescope Science Institute
Topics
astronomyNASAHubbletelescopespace
Connected Events — 3 Connections
The Hubble telescope's deployment in orbit enabled the deep field observation Hubble Deep Field Image Released
Represents the technological and conceptual descendant of Lipperhey's simple refracting telescope - the same basic principle of gathering and focusing light to reveal distant objects, but extended into space to eliminate atmospheric interference Invention of the Telescope
Steven Hawley's experience as Discovery mission specialist in 1984 qualified him for the complex orbital mechanics required to deploy Hubble from Discovery in 1990 Space Shuttle Discovery Launched
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