Servicing Mission 1 Timeline: Non-Interactive, Full Text

1993

Servicing Mission 1

December 2-13, 1993

The first opportunity to conduct planned maintenance on the telescope. Astronauts installed new instruments, including equipment that counteracted the flaw in Hubble's primary mirror.

Hubble Servicing Mission One Mission Patch. Circular patch with a red border with the words "Hubble Space Telescope" on the top, and "Industry, NASA, ESA, Universities" at the bottom. The inner portion of the patch is blue with stars, and it shows the Shuttle swooping from the Earth, capturing Hubble, with big bold "HST Servicing Mission" written.

Hubble Servicing Mission 1 (SM1) Patch from the 1993 mission.

December 2, 1993 – Launch of Servicing Mission 1

At 4:27 a.m. ET, the Space Shuttle Endeavour launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida with seven astronauts trained to rendezvous with and repair the Hubble Space Telescope for the first time ever.

The space shuttle roars off the launchpad.

NASA

December 4, 1993 – Hubble Captured and Secured in the Cargo Bay

Mission specialist Claude Nicollier used Endeavour’s robotic arm to gently dock Hubble in the shuttle’s cargo bay so that his crewmates could work on the telescope.

Hubble floats over a dark and cloudy Australia, oriented so the back of the telescope faces the viewer. A portion of the shuttle's robotic arm can be seen in the right corner, extending toward the telescope.

The space shuttle Endeavour's robotic arm appears to reach toward Hubble as it passes over Australia.

NASA

December 4, 1993 – First Spacewalk

Astronauts Story Musgrave and Jeff Hoffman entered the shuttle cargo bay to begin the first of five spacewalks. Their tasks included replacing some of Hubble’s gyroscopes and electrical control units for the gyros.

An astronaut on the robotic arm and one in the cargo bay of a Hubble mission

NASA

December 5, 1993 – Second Spacewalk

Astronauts Tom Akers and Kathy Thornton began the second spacewalk with the goal of replacing Hubble’s solar arrays with a new set that better handles temperature changes during the spacecraft's orbit.

An astronaut on the end of the robotic arm with Hubble and the Earth behind her.

NASA

December 5, 1993 – Solar Panel Separation

Astronaut Kathy Thornton released one of Hubble’s original solar panels into space. The solar panel, which was damaged and couldn’t be returned safely to Earth, separated from the shuttle and eventually deorbited and burned up in the atmosphere.

A solar panel, seen almost entirely in shadow, floats away against the backdrop of Earth.

A damaged solar array panel removed from the Hubble Space Telescope appears over northern Sudan.

NASA

December 6, 1993 – Third Spacewalk

Astronauts Story Musgrave and Jeff Hoffman began the third spacewalk of the servicing mission. Their main task was to replace Hubble’s primary camera with a more advanced version that included corrective mirrors to clear up Hubble’s blurry vision.

An astronaut on the robotic arm and an astronaut tethered to Hubble service the telescope.

NASA

December 7, 1993 – Fourth Spacewalk

Astronauts Kathy Thornton and Tom Akers began the fourth spacewalk with the objective to install COSTAR, a device that would focus Hubble’s burred vision for three of the science instruments aboard the orbiting observatory.

Astronaut Kathryn C. Thornton, center, grips a tool to perform servicing mission tasks on Hubble, left, with the Earth in the background on the right.

NASA

December 8, 1993 – Hubble Gets a Boost

Shuttle pilot Ken Bowersox made a set of orbital maneuvers to boost Endeavour and Hubble into a higher orbit around Earth, delaying the telescope’s eventual re-entry into the atmosphere.

The space shuttle is shown in sunlight in orbit.

NASA

December 8, 1993 – Final Spacewalk

Astronauts Jeff Hoffman and Story Musgrave began the final spacewalk of the mission. They replaced solar array drive electronics, assisted the solar array deployment, installed an electrical connection box, and completed work on Hubble’s magnetometers.

Earth is visible in the background as an astronaut attached to the shuttle's robotic arm is moved toward the top of the Hubble telescope. Another astronaut works in the shuttle bay below.

NASA

December 10, 1993 – Hubble Released Back Into Orbit

Astronaut Claude Nicollier used the Space Shuttle Endeavour’s robotic arm to release Hubble back into orbit so it could resume its explorations of the universe, now with much clearer vision.