Hubble Archive - Servicing Mission 1, STS-61

Released Thursday, October 4, 2018

ID: 13082

Shortly after the Hubble Space Telescope was deployed in 1990, the observatory's primary mirror was discovered to have an aberration that affected the clarity of the telescope's early images. Fortunately, Hubble, orbiting 353 miles (569 km) above the surface of the Earth, was the first telescope designed to be visited in space by astronauts to perform repairs, replace parts, and update its technology with new instruments. Servicing Mission 1, launched in December 1993, was the first opportunity to conduct planned maintenance on the telescope. In addition, new instruments were installed and the optics of the flaw in Hubble's primary mirror was corrected.

Pre-Servicing Mission 1 Resource Reel

Hubble Servicing Mission 1 was in December, 1993.

00:01 - Neutral Buoyancy Simulator, Marshall Space Flight Center

04:00 - Astronaut Training, Johnson Space Center

04:06 - Astronaut Training, Precision Air Bearing Floor

05:23 - Astronaut Training, Pogo Concept

06:00 - Astronaut Training, Virtual Reality

07:33 - Astronaut Training, Weightless Environment Training Facility

09:24 - Mechanical Testing, Goddard Space Flight Center, COSTAR insertion

12:29 - Goddard Space Flight Center, WF/PC II insertion

15:51 - Goddard Space Flight Center, Astronaut Training with Tools

16:31 - Extra Vehicular Activities Animation, Johnson Space Center

16:36 - Johnson Space Center, WF/PC II changeout

20:32 - Johnson Space Center, RSU changeout

23:44 - Johnson Space Center, COSTAR changeout

26:50 - Johnson Space Center, Solar Arrays changeout

28:32 - Solar Array VNR, European Space Agency

34:36 - COSTAR VNR, Ball Aerospace

37:35 - COSTAR Animation, Space Telescope Science Institute

38:14 - WF/PC II Animation, Space Telescope Science Institute

39:04 - Testing and Verification VNR, NASA Headquarters

STS-61 Crew Preflight Press Briefing

November 18, 1993

Astronauts Richard Covey, Kenneth Bowersox, Claude Nicollier, Story Musgrave, Tom Akers, Jeff Hoffman, and Kathy Thornton discuss their upcoming servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope.

Servicing Mission 1 Highlights

Highlights from upconverted 16mm film B-roll of Servicing Mission 1 (SM1). Includes crew training, EVA highlights, HST deployment, MOCR activities and COR activities, Corrective Optics Space Telescope Axial Replacement (COSTAR) installation to counter effects of the flawed shape of the mirror, solar array jettison and more.

Post-Servicing Mission 1 First Light

Servicing Mission 1 was proven to be a complete success, especially after astronomers and scientists confirmed that the spherical abberation was corrected by using the COSTAR and the WFPC2.

STS-61 Flight Day 1 Highlights

Hubble Servicing Mission 1

December 2, 1993

Launch of Space Shuttle Endeavour

Astronauts: Richard Covey, Kenneth Bowersox, Kathryn Thornton, Claude Nicollier, Jeffrey Hoffman, Story Musgrave, Thomas Akers

25:00 - Launch

STS-61 Flight Day 2 Highlights

Hubble Servicing Mission 1

December 3, 1993

Astronauts: Richard Covey, Kenneth Bowersox, Kathryn Thornton, Claude Nicollier, Jeffrey Hoffman, Story Musgrave, Thomas Akers

The crew inspected the payload bay, robotic arm, and spacesuits while Endeavour performed a series of burns to start to close in on Hubble.

STS-61 Flight Day 3 Highlights

Hubble Servicing Mission 1

December 4, 1993

Astronauts: Richard Covey, Kenneth Bowersox, Kathryn Thornton, Claude Nicollier, Jeffrey Hoffman, Story Musgrave, Thomas Akers

The astronauts approached and captured the telescope.

STS-61 Flight Day 4 Highlights

Hubble Servicing Mission 1

December 5, 1993

Astronauts: Richard Covey, Kenneth Bowersox, Kathryn Thornton, Claude Nicollier, Jefrey Hoffman, Story Musgrave, Thomas Akers

Spacewalk #1, Story Musgrave and Jeffrey Hoffman - replaced Rate Sensing Units with gyroscopes.

STS-61 Flight Day 5 Highlights

Hubble Servicing Mission 1

December 6, 1993

Astronauts: Richard Covey, Kenneth Bowersox, Kathryn Thornton, Claude Nicollier, Jeffrey Hoffman, Story Musgrave, Thomas Akers

Spacewalk #2, Kathryn Thornton and Thomas Akers replaced Hubble's solar arrays.

STS-61 Flight Day 6 Highlights

Hubble Servicing Mission 1

December 7, 1993

Astronauts: Richard Covey, Kenneth Bowersox, Kathryn Thornton, Claude Nicollier, Jeffrey Hoffman, Story Musgrave, Thomas Akers

Spacewalk #3, Jeffrey Hoffman and Story Musgrave replaced the Wide Field Planetary Camera (WFPC) with the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) and changed out two magnetometers.

STS-61 Flight Day 7 Highlights

Hubble Servicing Mission 1

December 8, 1993

Astronauts: Richard Covey, Kenneth Bowersox, Kathryn Thornton, Claude Nicollier, Jeffrey Hoffman, Story Musgrave, Thomas Akers

Spacewalk #4, Thomas Akers and Kathryn Thornton installed COSTAR and added a co-processor to the telescope's computer. Pilot Kenneth Bowersox performed two orbital maneuvers to boost the telescope's orbit.