On This Day in Space: April 25, 1990: STS-31 deploys Hubble Space Telescope

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By Hanneke Weitering
last updated

On April 25, 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope was deployed!

On April 25, 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope was deployed! 

Hubble is famous for taking some of the most amazing deep-space photos ever. It hitched a ride to space on the space shuttle Discovery with mission STS-31. Also on board were astronauts Charles Bolden, Loren Shriver, Bruce McCandless, Steven Hawley and Kathryn Sullivan.  

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The Hubble Space Telescope being deployed from the cargo bay of space shuttle Discovery as part of NASA's STS-31 mission. (Image credit: NASA)
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The crew used a Canadian-built robotic arm to deploy Hubble from the shuttle's cargo bay while they were orbiting 332 nautical miles (534 kilometers) above the Earth. No one knew it at the time, but Hubble wouldn't be taking any pretty pictures anytime soon. 

When Hubble took its first photos almost a month after it was deployed, the pictures were out of focus because of a flaw in its mirror. Thankfully, the problem was fixable, and astronauts successfully repaired it in 1993. 

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Hanneke Weitering
Hanneke Weitering
Contributing expert

Hanneke Weitering is a multimedia journalist in the Pacific Northwest reporting on the future of aviation at FutureFlight.aero and Aviation International News and was previously the Editor for Spaceflight and Astronomy news here at Space.com. As an editor with over 10 years of experience in science journalism she has previously written for Scholastic Classroom Magazines, MedPage Today and The Joint Institute for Computational Sciences at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. After studying physics at the University of Tennessee in her hometown of Knoxville, she earned her graduate degree in Science, Health and Environmental Reporting (SHERP) from New York University. Hanneke joined the Space.com team in 2016 as a staff writer and producer, covering topics including spaceflight and astronomy. She currently lives in Seattle, home of the Space Needle, with her cat and two snakes. In her spare time, Hanneke enjoys exploring the Rocky Mountains, basking in nature and looking for dark skies to gaze at the cosmos. 

5 Comments Comment from the forums
  • The Exoplanets Channel
    Very interesting
    Reply
  • Arc Light
    Just so you know, the X-15 took off from Edwards AFB under the wing of a B-52 & was airdropped over Delamar Dry Lake, Nevada. The flight to the altitude record wasn't planned, but the rocket engine burned for two seconds longer than expected. The test flight was scheduled to peak at 280,000', but actually reached 314, 750' due to the extra rocket burn time.
    Reply
  • Fourth Root
    Misleading wording. Bob White did not set the world altitude record on July 17th, 1962. Four Astronauts and two cosmonauts had flown higher prior to his flight. One could say it was the highest manned flight of a winged craft. But that's not the wording that was used.
    Reply
  • DrRaviSharma
    On this date in 1969, I was part of NASA Apollo Team

    Contributed to Experiments in orbit and on Surface of Moon (ALSEP) etc.also trained astronauts

    Studied containation on and ouside Spacecraft.

    The Moon gave me employment to work for 5 Years on exciting Human Space flight Programs Skylab, Planning of Space Station and Space Shuttle

    See My picture taken with Buzz Aldrin in 2009
    https://www.space.com/india-moon-landing-not-a-failure.html
    I received Apollo Achievement Award from NASA dated July 20, 1969.

    Thanks Hanneke Weitering for today's Historic post

    Ravi
    Dr. Ravi Sharma
    Reply
  • Mergatroid
    "Allegedly, the moon turns green because of its close proximity to Uranus"

    I'm sorry about that. I hear they have been investigating x-rays from the same source. I had no idea. I'll get a doctor to check into it.

    Sorry everyone.

    Sorry...
    Reply