{"id":24146,"date":"2023-12-03T22:29:29","date_gmt":"2023-12-03T14:29:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/30-years-after-its-first-repair-mission-hubble-continues-to-observe-the-cosmos\/"},"modified":"2023-12-03T22:29:29","modified_gmt":"2023-12-03T14:29:29","slug":"30-years-after-its-first-repair-mission-hubble-continues-to-observe-the-cosmos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/30-years-after-its-first-repair-mission-hubble-continues-to-observe-the-cosmos\/","title":{"rendered":"30 years after its first repair mission, Hubble continues to observe the cosmos"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>30 years ago, on the very early morning of Dec. 2, 1993, the Space Shuttle <em>Endeavour<\/em> and the STS-61 crew launched on a high-stakes mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope. 30 years after the successful flight, which enabled Hubble to finally fulfill its promise to revolutionize our view of the Universe, the veteran observatory is still making new discoveries and may get a new lease on life deeper into the 21st century.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>Out of focus: Hubble after launch<\/p>\n<p>After the Hubble Space Telescope was launched on April 24, 1990, by the Space Shuttle <em>Discovery<\/em> and the crew of STS-31, there was initial excitement in finally launching the long-planned and long-awaited orbiting observatory. As far back as the 1960s, plans had been made for a large observatory in space, which could see above the blurring effects and wavelength attenuation of Earth\u2019s atmosphere.<\/p>\n<p>However, within weeks of the observatory\u2019s launch, engineers and scientists realized that something was wrong with Hubble\u2019s optics. Two months after STS-31, NASA had to announce that the billion-dollar observatory was not functioning as it should. This was due to a mirror that was precisely ground to the wrong shape \u2014 by just 1\/50th the width of a human hair \u2014 a decade earlier at the Perkin-Elmer facility in Danbury, Connecticut.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Saving Hubble Space Telescope... Again.\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/tKetXK4fskw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\" name=\"fitvid0\" data-gtm-yt-inspected-14=\"true\" data-gtm-yt-inspected-21=\"true\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The mirror suffered from what is known as \u201cspherical aberration.\u201d This means that not every ray of light would converge at the same focus point when reflected by Hubble\u2019s mirror. The telescope could still observe the universe, but its clarity was not what it needed to be for the ground-breaking observations that were planned and promised. The telescope could still observe certain parts of the ultraviolet (UV) and infrared spectrum that were not visible on Earth. However, Hubble was built to observe visible light, not infrared and UV.<\/p>\n<p>Thus, Hubble was not able to achieve its full potential as an astronomical instrument and was criticized on late night television and painted as a symbol of NASA\u2019s failures. U.S. Senator from Maryland Barbara Mikulski, whose state hosts the Goddard Space Flight Center, where Hubble is commanded from to this day, labeled the telescope a \u201ctechno-turkey.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-96846\" class=\"size-full wp-image-96846\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_8768.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"1500\" height=\"1244\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_8768.webp 1500w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_8768-350x290.webp 350w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_8768-422x350.webp 422w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_8768-768x637.webp 768w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_8768-1170x970.webp 1170w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-96846\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The first image released from the Hubble Space Telescope in 1990. After the image was released the spherical aberration was discovered during attempts to refine Hubble\u2019s focus. (Credit: NASA)<\/p>\n<p>A new pair of glasses: fixing Hubble<\/p>\n<p>While the telescope and NASA were taking a big hit to their reputations and revised observational programs were prepared for the orbiting observatory, the space agency set out to find a fix for the optical system. Since the mirror was ground so precisely to a wrong shape \u2014 as a result of an improperly assembled measuring device called a \u201cnull corrector\u201d used to figure the primary mirror \u2014 corrective lenses could be prepared to allow the telescope\u2019s instruments to receive focused light.<\/p>\n<p>The repair plan involved two instruments: the Wide Field and Planetary Camera-2 (WF\/PC2), which would replace the original Wide Field and Planetary Camera (WF\/PC) and feature built-in corrective optics, and the Corrective Optics Space Telescope Axial Replacement (COSTAR) box which would correct the light for three axial instruments. The High Speed Photometer (HSP), which was one of four instruments mounted in boxes just above the telescope\u2019s mirror, would be sacrificed and COSTAR would be installed in its place.<\/p>\n<p>The HSP was the instrument least affected by the spherical aberration, and it could be used to rapidly measure the light from astronomical objects. The other axial instruments, the Faint Object Camera (FOC), the Faint Object Spectrometer, and the Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph (GHRS), would receive corrected light from COSTAR. COSTAR would achieve this with pairs of small corrective mirrors on the end of motorized arms, which would send corrected light to the instrument they were aligned with.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-96847\" class=\"size-full wp-image-96847\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_8788.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"793\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_8788.jpeg 1000w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_8788-350x278.jpeg 350w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_8788-441x350.jpeg 441w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_8788-768x609.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-96847\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Supernova 1987a\u2019s remnant as imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope in 1990 with the ESA-provided Faint Object Camera. Even with the optical flaw, HST was able to perform science. (Credit: NASA\/ESA)<\/p>\n<p>The Hubble Telescope also had pointing issues that needed to be fixed for it to reach its full observing potential. One particular concern was \u201cjitter,\u201d which occurred every time Hubble crossed Earth\u2019s day\/night terminator line due to temperature changes. New solar panels with silver insulation covering the guides, which would keep the panels taut after deployment, were commissioned for a 1993 servicing mission.<\/p>\n<p>While the instruments and other replacement items were being built and checked out, Hubble observed storms on Saturn, the remnant of Supernova 1987a, and other targets. A new image processing method was invented that could remove some aberration effects for certain observations, and some Shuttle flights in 1992 and 1993 had EVAs added to them to test tools and techniques needed on the Hubble repair mission.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-96865\" class=\" wp-image-96865\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/45461282094_3b563e1595_o.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"959\" height=\"1415\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/45461282094_3b563e1595_o.jpeg 1301w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/45461282094_3b563e1595_o-237x350.jpeg 237w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/45461282094_3b563e1595_o-768x1133.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/45461282094_3b563e1595_o-1170x1727.jpeg 1170w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 959px) 100vw, 959px\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-96865\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The STS-61 stack being rolled out for launch. During flight preparations, Endeavour had to be rolled from Pad 39A to 39B due to contamination in 39A\u2019s rotating service structure. (Credit: NASA)<\/p>\n<p>STS-61: the mission to save Hubble<\/p>\n<p>The seventh and final Shuttle mission of 1993 was STS-61, the first Hubble Space Telescope servicing flight. The early 1990s had been a difficult time for NASA, with the Hubble mirror issue being only one of the agency\u2019s many problems. As such, the pressure for STS-61 to deliver and fix Hubble was high.<\/p>\n<p>The space station program \u2014 what would ultimately become the International Space Station \u2014 had come very close to being canceled by Congress, not once, but twice, as a recession and post-Cold War budget cuts trimmed space spending. The Space Shuttle fleet had suffered from hydrogen leaks delaying flights in the summer of 1990, the same summer when the Hubble mirror issue became known.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-96870\" class=\" wp-image-96870\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_8899.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"955\" height=\"522\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_8899.jpeg 640w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_8899-350x191.jpeg 350w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_8899-630x345.jpeg 630w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 955px) 100vw, 955px\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-96870\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rendering of the Galileo probe orbiting Jupiter with its high gain antenna not deployed correctly. This was one of the setbacks that NASA endured in the early 1990s. (Credit: NASA)<\/p>\n<p>In addition, the Galileo probe to Jupiter, deployed by the Space Shuttle <em>Atlantis<\/em>, had been unable to extend its high-gain antenna, and its mission goals were threatened. The Mars Observer probe had been lost just before it was to orbit the Red Planet. The agency was under pressure, and many were questioning the value of space exploration.<\/p>\n<p>Space Shuttle <em>Endeavour<\/em> started its spaceflight career with an improvised and successful rescue of the Intelsat 6 communications satellite during the STS-49 mission. Now, <em>Endeavour<\/em> and the astronauts of STS-61 would be called upon to rescue the credibility of one of the signature projects in NASA and spaceflight history, to restore the scientific promise of the Hubble Space Telescope.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-96849\" class=\"size-full wp-image-96849\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_8871.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1536\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_8871.jpeg 1920w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_8871-350x280.jpeg 350w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_8871-438x350.jpeg 438w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_8871-768x614.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_8871-1170x936.jpeg 1170w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-96849\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Crew portrait for STS-61 taken two months before launch. (Credit: NASA)<\/p>\n<p>The STS-61 crew had been named well before the flight, and they were all veterans of the program with prior flight experience. Mission commander Richard Covey had flown three prior Shuttle missions, including the STS-26 return to flight in 1988. Pilot Ken Bowersox was on his second flight, having flown on the STS-50 Spacelab mission aboard <em>Columbia<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Mission Specialist 1 (MS1), Kathryn Thornton, had a pair of flights to her name, including STS-49, where she gained EVA experience. Mission Specialist 2 (MS3), Claude Nicollier, from Switzerland, was an ESA astronaut who had flown on the Shuttle once before, helping to deploy the EURECA and TSS satellites on STS-46.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-96852\" class=\" wp-image-96852\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_8790.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"866\" height=\"566\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_8790.png 600w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_8790-350x229.png 350w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_8790-536x350.png 536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 866px) 100vw, 866px\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-96852\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Astronauts Akers and Thornton \u2013 left to right \u2013 training to replace the WF\/PC with the corrected WF\/PC2 at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. All four EVA astronauts were cross-trained on each others\u2019 tasks. (Credit: NASA)<\/p>\n<p>The third mission specialist (MS3), Jeffrey Hoffman, was on his fourth flight. As an astronomer, he was particularly knowledgeable about the Hubble Space Telescope. He also had EVA experience from his first flight in 1985 and was also a mission specialist on the long-delayed ASTRO-1 astronomy Spacelab mission in 1990. Additionally, Hoffman and Nicollier were crew mates on the aforementioned STS-46 mission.<\/p>\n<p>Story Musgrave and Thomas Akers rounded out the seven-person crew. Both men had EVA experience, with Musgrave being on his fifth spaceflight and Akers on his third. Musgrave had been one of two astronauts on STS-6 to conduct the first-ever Shuttle spacewalk, while Akers had flown on STS-49 and had been one of the astronauts involved in the retrieval of Intelsat 6 on the first three-person EVA in history.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-96848\" class=\"size-full wp-image-96848\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_8865.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1914\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_8865.png 1920w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_8865-350x350.png 350w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_8865-351x350.png 351w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_8865-768x766.png 768w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_8865-1170x1166.png 1170w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-96848\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">STS-61 launched into the pre-dawn darkness on Dec. 2, 1993, at 4:27 AM EST. (Credit: NASA)<\/p>\n<p>On Dec. 2, 1993, at 4:27 AM EST (09:27 UTC), after a 24-hour delay due to out-of-limit weather conditions for a contingency return to launch site abort, <em>Endeavour<\/em> launched from Launch Complex 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The shuttle reached orbit and started a two-day chase to rendezvous with the Hubble Space Telescope.<\/p>\n<p><em>Endeavour\u2019<\/em>s robotic arm, operated by Claude Nicollier, grappled the observatory on Dec. 4, which was flight day three for the mission. Astronauts and flight controllers got their first look at the Hubble Telescope since its launch in April 1990, and they found one thing immediately apparent. One of the solar panels had a recognizable kink in it, which would be problematic for retracting the panel and returning it to Earth.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-96850\" class=\"wp-image-96850 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_8838.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"2313\" height=\"2320\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_8838.png 2313w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_8838-350x350.png 350w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_8838-349x350.png 349w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_8838-768x770.png 768w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_8838-1920x1926.png 1920w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_8838-1170x1174.png 1170w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2313px) 100vw, 2313px\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-96850\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Hubble Space Telescope just before its capture on flight day three of STS-61. Note the kink in one of the solar panels. (Credit: NASA)<\/p>\n<p>While MS2 Nicollier would be at the controls of the shuttle\u2019s Canadarm for the entire flight, the other mission specialists would alternate their EVA duties. A record five spacewalks were planned for this mission, with the first one coming up on the next flight day, and pairs of astronauts would alternate the EVA activity to allow for sufficient rest.<\/p>\n<p>On Dec. 5, or flight day four, astronauts Musgrave and Hoffman moved into <em>Endeavour\u2019<\/em>s cargo bay to start the critical repair work. After setting up their tools, Hoffman mounted himself to the shuttle\u2019s Canadarm robotic arm while Story Musgrave was the free-floater. The first order of business was to give Hubble six healthy gyroscopes, which they did by replacing a pair of rate sensing units, each one with two gyroscopes.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-96862\" class=\"wp-image-96862 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/2C50B3BD-BA12-471F-9A35-4CD4739C0334.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1968\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/2C50B3BD-BA12-471F-9A35-4CD4739C0334.jpeg 2000w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/2C50B3BD-BA12-471F-9A35-4CD4739C0334-350x344.jpeg 350w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/2C50B3BD-BA12-471F-9A35-4CD4739C0334-356x350.jpeg 356w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/2C50B3BD-BA12-471F-9A35-4CD4739C0334-768x756.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/2C50B3BD-BA12-471F-9A35-4CD4739C0334-1920x1889.jpeg 1920w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/2C50B3BD-BA12-471F-9A35-4CD4739C0334-1170x1151.jpeg 1170w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-96862\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Astronaut Jeff Hoffman working on gyroscope installation during EVA 1 of STS-61. Note the \u201cdings\u201d \u2014 small space debris hits \u2014 on the exterior. (Credit: NASA)<\/p>\n<p>Musgrave and Hoffman also replaced a pair of electrical control units that controlled two of the three rate sensing units, changed eight fuse plugs, and installed protective covers on various parts of the observatory. Their only real issue was with the latches on the gyro door, and they eventually solved this. After seven hours and 50 minutes outside, the astronauts returned to the airlock.<\/p>\n<p>Flight day five, on Dec. 6, was designated for another high-priority task: the replacement of the solar panels. The resolution of the observatory\u2019s pointing issues was as critical to fulfilling the observatory\u2019s potential as fixing the optical system. The gyroscope replacement was part of this task, and it was hoped that the new solar panels would fix the \u201cjitter\u201d issue.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-96864\" class=\"size-full wp-image-96864\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/28051104241_70381bb446_o-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2529\" height=\"2560\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/28051104241_70381bb446_o-scaled.jpeg 2529w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/28051104241_70381bb446_o-346x350.jpeg 346w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/28051104241_70381bb446_o-768x778.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/28051104241_70381bb446_o-1920x1944.jpeg 1920w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/28051104241_70381bb446_o-1170x1184.jpeg 1170w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2529px) 100vw, 2529px\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-96864\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The damaged solar panel after it was jettisoned by astronaut Kathryn Thornton on the Canadarm. (Credit: NASA)<\/p>\n<p>Astronauts Thornton and Akers conducted the second spacewalk of STS-61. Kathryn Thornton mounted on the Canadarm while Tom Akers was the free-floating astronaut. One of the solar arrays did not retract properly due to the kink near the bottom solar panel, so the astronauts detached the damaged array before Thornton released the array overboard, allowing the array to float freely away into space.<\/p>\n<p>One of the new arrays was successfully installed in place of the damaged one, after which the telescope was rotated 180 degrees on its fitting in the orbiter\u2019s payload bay. The other array was removed and mounted to a pallet in the payload bay, and the other new array was successfully added. Thornton and Akers returned to the airlock after six and a half hours.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-96858\" class=\"size-full wp-image-96858\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_8853-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"2553\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_8853-scaled.jpeg 2560w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_8853-350x350.jpeg 350w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_8853-351x350.jpeg 351w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_8853-768x766.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_8853-1920x1914.jpeg 1920w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_8853-1170x1167.jpeg 1170w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-96858\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Astronaut Story Musgrave during EVA 3, before the astronauts installed the corrected WF\/PC2. Musgrave is in the white suit, Jeff Hoffman used solid red stripes. (Credit: NASA)<\/p>\n<p>Once the solar arrays and gyroscopes were changed out and tests on the gyros were passed successfully, the repairs to the optical system could begin on Dec. 7, which was Flight day six. Astronauts Musgrave and Hoffman teamed up to replace the telescope\u2019s original WF\/PC camera with the optically corrected WF\/PC2, which passed its aliveness test shortly thereafter.<\/p>\n<p>The process took a lot less time than was envisaged before the flight \u2013 40 minutes instead of four hours \u2013 and was successfully completed. Hoffman, being on the Canadarm, changed a pair of magnetometers on the top of the telescope near the aperture door to finish out the EVA. They got back to the airlock after six hours and 47 minutes. After the spacewalk, and before the next one, Pilot Bowersox boosted <em>Endeavour<\/em> and Hubble from the initial 594 by 587-kilometer orbit to a 596 by 594-kilometer circular orbit.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-96867\" class=\"size-full wp-image-96867\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/28127833015_670c3f0243_o-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1676\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/28127833015_670c3f0243_o-scaled.jpeg 2560w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/28127833015_670c3f0243_o-350x229.jpeg 350w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/28127833015_670c3f0243_o-535x350.jpeg 535w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/28127833015_670c3f0243_o-768x503.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/28127833015_670c3f0243_o-1920x1257.jpeg 1920w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/28127833015_670c3f0243_o-1170x766.jpeg 1170w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-96867\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Astronauts Tom Akers and Kathryn Thornton working on the COSTAR install on EVA 4. Akers is in the suit with the diagonal stripes on the left while Thornton used broken red stripes. (Credit: NASA)<\/p>\n<p>Flight day seven, on Dec. 8, was the day the axial instruments on Hubble would get their corrective optics. Astronauts Thornton and Akers opened the doors to the telescope\u2019s aft shroud, removed the powered-down HSP box, and then practiced with it to help them with the COSTAR installation. The astronauts installed COSTAR successfully, closed the equipment bay doors, and added a co-processor and additional memory to upgrade the telescope\u2019s onboard computer. The EVA lasted six hours and 50 minutes.<\/p>\n<p>One final spacewalk remained before the Hubble Space Telescope could be redeployed. On Dec. 9, which was Flight day eight, Astronauts Musgrave and Hoffman entered the shuttle\u2019s payload bay and replaced the solar array drive unit on the telescope.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-96866\" class=\"size-full wp-image-96866\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/28049525841_9987124a48_o-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"2560\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/28049525841_9987124a48_o-scaled.jpeg 2560w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/28049525841_9987124a48_o-350x350.jpeg 350w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/28049525841_9987124a48_o-768x768.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/28049525841_9987124a48_o-1920x1920.jpeg 1920w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/28049525841_9987124a48_o-1170x1170.jpeg 1170w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-96866\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Space Shuttle Endeavour and the payload bay taken from near the top of the Hubble Space Telescope. (Credit: NASA)<\/p>\n<p>Ground controllers commanded Hubble to extend its new solar arrays to deploy position, but the arms failed to extend, so the astronauts had to crank the deployment mechanism by hand manually. The new solar arrays were successfully deployed afterward, and the astronauts fitted an electrical connection to the GHRS.<\/p>\n<p>The last repair task for the mission was to place a pair of covers fashioned on orbit to the new magnetometers at the top of the telescope to prevent debris shedding, which had happened on flight day six when Jeff Hoffman replaced the original pair of magnetometers, which could have been degraded by ultraviolet exposure.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-96841\" class=\"size-full wp-image-96841\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_8845-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2516\" height=\"2560\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_8845-scaled.jpeg 2516w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_8845-344x350.jpeg 344w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_8845-768x782.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_8845-1920x1954.jpeg 1920w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_8845-1170x1191.jpeg 1170w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2516px) 100vw, 2516px\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-96841\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The newly repaired Hubble Space Telescope shown before its redeployment on STS-61. Note the new solar arrays with the insulation on the deployment guides. (Credit: NASA)<\/p>\n<p>The fifth and final EVA ended after seven hours and 21 minutes, bringing the total spacewalk time for STS-61 to 35 hours and 28 minutes, a record for a shuttle mission. The telescope\u2019s high-gain antenna was deployed, and the crew prepared to release the newly repaired telescope.<\/p>\n<p>Hubble was redeployed on flight day nine after some troubleshooting of a data interface unit on the observatory. The aperture door was opened, and the telescope was deployed afterward at 5:26 AM EDT (10:26 UTC) on Dec. 10, 1993. <em>Endeavour<\/em> landed safely on Runway 33 at the Kennedy Space Center at 12:26 AM EST (05:26 UTC) on Dec. 13.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-96854\" class=\"size-full wp-image-96854\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_8770.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"995\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_8770.png 2000w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_8770-350x174.png 350w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_8770-630x313.png 630w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_8770-768x382.png 768w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_8770-1920x955.png 1920w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_8770-1170x582.png 1170w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-96854\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Before and after: M100 imaged on Nov. 27, 1993 to the left, and on Dec. 31, 1993 to the right. (Credit: NASA)<\/p>\n<p><b>Hubble\u2019s new lease on life<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Hubble\u2019s first public imagery since the repair mission showed the public just how far the observatory had come in a very short time. The spherical aberration and the telescope\u2019s \u201cjitter\u201d during terminator crossings were completely fixed. The telescope\u2019s images of the galaxy M100, taken before and after the repair, showed that Hubble could now fulfill its full potential as the observatory that would be the biggest advancement in astronomy since Galileo invented the telescope.<\/p>\n<p>Over the following years and decades, the Hubble telescope has made many discoveries that have completely transformed our understanding of the Universe. Among other things, Hubble proved the existence of black holes and discovered that the universe was expanding and speeding up, discovering \u201cdark energy\u201d in the process.<\/p>\n<p>Hubble also imaged Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9\u2019s impacts on Jupiter, possible plumes of water from Jupiter\u2019s moon Europa, storms on Saturn, and the ice giants Uranus and Neptune. Furthermore, Hubble discovered Kuiper Belt objects, imaged the aftermath of an asteroid collision, and the impact of the DART spacecraft on the asteroid moon Dimorphos.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-96935\" class=\"size-full wp-image-96935\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_9048.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"1505\" height=\"1338\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_9048.webp 1505w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_9048-350x311.webp 350w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_9048-394x350.webp 394w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_9048-768x683.webp 768w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_9048-1170x1040.webp 1170w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1505px) 100vw, 1505px\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-96935\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Image of debris falling from the asteroid moon Dimorphos after it was impacted by DART. Taken by the Hubble Telescope in December 2022. (Credit: NASA, ESA, and David Jewitt\/UCLA)<\/p>\n<p>In addition to the telescope\u2019s observations of our solar system, Hubble also made the first discovery of an atmosphere around an exoplanet, an impressive feat given that exoplanets had not yet been directly observed when Hubble was being constructed. Hubble has also made deep field images that showed galaxies only 500 million years after the Big Bang \u2014 at the very limit of what is observable in visible light.<\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s more, Hubble has discovered that galaxies are surrounded by invisible \u201cdark matter,\u201d and follow-on telescopes, such as the recently launched Euclid and the Nancy Grace Roman Telescope, will work to understand dark matter and dark energy further. This is only a very partial list of the discoveries the Hubble Space Telescope has made since its first repair mission thirty years ago.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-96868\" class=\"size-full wp-image-96868\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_8897.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1280\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_8897.png 1280w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_8897-350x350.png 350w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_8897-768x768.png 768w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_8897-1170x1170.png 1170w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-96868\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Hubble Ultra Deep Field, taken in 2003-2004. This image shows objects at the very limit of visible light detection. (Credit: NASA\/ESA\/S. Beckwith\/STScI\/HUDF Team)<\/p>\n<p>STS-61 was only the first of five Space Shuttle missions to repair and upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope. Today, the Hubble Telescope has solar arrays that are much smaller than the original arrays yet generate 20 percent more power, along with new instruments that are much more advanced than the instruments originally flown aboard the veteran observatory.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>30 years ago, on the very early morning of Dec. 2, 1993, the Space Shuttle Endeavour and the STS-61 crew launched on a high-stakes mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope. 30 years after the successful flight, which enabled Hubble to finally fulfill its promise to revolutionize our view of the Universe, the veteran observatory [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1445,246,4259,898,793,190,7779,1390,8367,4081],"class_list":["post-24146","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-endeavour","tag-esa","tag-hubble","tag-hubble-space-telescope","tag-lc-39b","tag-nasa","tag-shuttle","tag-space-shuttle","tag-space-shuttle-endeavour","tag-sts-61"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24146"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24146"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24146\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24146"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24146"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24146"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}