On April 25, 1990, NASA deployed the Hubble Space Telescope, named after Edwin Powell Hubble. It was placed into orbit by crew members of the space shuttle Discovery after launching on April 24, 1990. The large reflecting telescope was the most sophisticated optical observatory ever to orbit Earth but was released with a faulty lens due to miscalculations. It was later repaired and utilized to photograph the universe helping bring images not available to astronomers.
The Hubble was upgraded multiple times.
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Servicing Mission 1 (SM1): Dec. 2-13, 1993
The first opportunity to conduct planned maintenance on the telescope. Astronauts installed new instruments, including equipment adjusted to correct for the flaw in Hubble’s primary mirror. - Servicing Mission 2 (SM2): Feb. 11-21, 1997
The installation of new instruments extended Hubble’s wavelength range into the near-infrared for imaging and spectroscopy, allowing scientists to probe the most distant reaches of the universe. The replacement of failed or degraded spacecraft components increased efficiency and performance. - Servicing Mission 3A (SM3A): Dec. 19-27, 1999
What was originally conceived as a mission of preventive maintenance turned more urgent on Nov. 13, 1999, when the fourth of Hubble’s six gyros failed. Hubble requires at least three of its stabilizing gyros to conduct science. Hubble entered a state of dormancy called safe mode while the telescope waited for repairs. NASA split the third servicing mission into two parts to more quickly bring Hubble back into operation. - Servicing Mission 3B (SM3B): March 1-12, 2002
During SM3B, astronauts replaced Hubble’s solar panels and installed the Advanced Camera for Surveys, which took the place of Hubble’s Faint Object Camera, the telescope’s last original instrument. - Servicing Mission 4 (SM4): May 11-24, 2009
The Hubble Space Telescope was reborn with Servicing Mission 4 (SM4). The fifth and final servicing of the orbiting observatory flew aboard space shuttle Atlantis (STS-125) May 11–24, 2009. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSXqNBB7TtQ&feature=youtu.be - https://scholarworks.umass.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=1969&context=astro_faculty_pubs
Improvements of Hubble Telescope image of M100 – Initial images of M100 were blurred due to error in the original telescope. Upgrades to the Hubble Space Telescope in 1993 yielded great improvements. Improvements in 2009 were even more pronounced bringing out clarity and details not seen before.
Upgrade 4
https://www.nasa.gov/pdf/252451main_FS_WFC3.pdf
Hubble Space Telescope
Hubble Space Telescope, photographed by the space shuttle Discovery. April 1990
NASA
