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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
December 13, 1993 – Space Shuttle Endeavour Returns
The Space Shuttle Endeavour safely lands at Kennedy Space Center, bringing the successful first servicing mission to a close.