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Loading contentAstronomy · Space Missions
The launch and in-orbit servicing of Hubble.
The Hubble Space Telescope was carried into low Earth orbit in 1990 aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery, a joint project of NASA and the European Space Agency.
Because Hubble orbits close to Earth, astronauts were able to visit it on several Space Shuttle servicing missions, repairing an early optical flaw and repeatedly upgrading its instruments — a rare and remarkable feat for a space observatory.
This entry covers the mission and its servicing. For the observatory itself — its optics and what it observes — see the Hubble entry under Space Telescopes.
Verified imagery of Hubble Space Telescope will appear here.
Prepared for official NASA / ESA integration. We publish only openly licensed and public-domain media, with full credit, license, and source for every image.
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The iconic orbiting observatory of optical astronomy.
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The launch and operation of the great infrared observatory.
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The first crewed landing on the Moon, in 1969.
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The most distant human-made object, now in interstellar space.