description STS-61 Hubble Servicing Overview
STS-61 was a 1993 NASA Space Shuttle Endeavour mission dedicated to servicing the Hubble Space Telescope. As the first servicing flight for the telescope, the crew conducted a series of spacewalks to install the Corrective Optics Space Telescope Axial Replacement (COSTAR). This hardware successfully compensated for the spherical aberration in Hubble's primary mirror, allowing the observatory to capture high-resolution astronomical images.
insights Ranking position
STS-61 Hubble Servicing ranks #4 of 270 in the Space Mission ranking, behind OSIRIS-REx (Bennu Sample Return), ahead of Mir Space Station.
help STS-61 Hubble Servicing FAQ
What was wrong with the Hubble Space Telescope's mirror?
Hubble's 2.4-meter primary mirror had been ground to the wrong shape due to a testing error at the Perkin-Elmer Corporation, leaving it with spherical aberration that caused blurry images. The flaw was discovered shortly after Hubble's deployment in 1990.
Which space shuttle flew the STS-61 Hubble servicing mission?
STS-61 was flown by the Space Shuttle Endeavour, launching from Kennedy Space Center in December 1993. Endeavour was at the time NASA's newest orbiter, having first flown in 1992 as a replacement for the lost Challenger.
What corrective instruments were installed during STS-61?
The crew installed the Corrective Optics Space Telescope Axial Replacement (COSTAR), a device containing small mirrors that corrected the light path for Hubble's instruments. They also replaced the original Wide Field and Planetary Camera with the upgraded WFPC-2, which had its own built-in corrective optics.
How many spacewalks were performed during the STS-61 mission?
The crew conducted a record five EVAs (extravehicular activities) during the 11-day mission, with astronauts Story Musgrave and Kathryn Thornton performing key spacewalks. This set a new standard for the most spacewalks conducted on a single shuttle mission.
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