Hubble Astronauts

From its deployment, and through five additional servicing missions, Hubble's astronauts have kept the telescope in top shape, able to continue conducting great science for years to come.

Quick Facts

Thirty-two astronauts flew across six missions to launch, repair, and upgrade Hubble.

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.

Astronaut John Grunsfeld flew the most missions to Hubble ― three ― and conducted the most spacewalks ― eight.

Astronaut in white space suit waving to the camera outside of the Hubble Space Telescope floating in space.

Astronauts represented three countries during Hubble missions: France, Switzerland, and the United States.

Image showing astronaut holding the Pistol Grip Tool, which looks like an electric screwdriver. The astronaut's face is visible through his visor, he is smiling. He stands next to a large gold box with a bit of the Shuttle visible behind him.

Astronauts conducted Hubble spacewalks on 23 separate days.

Two Hubble astronauts working during Servicing Mission 4. One of the astronauts is carrying a large silver box, about the size of a telephone booth. He is standing on the long robotic CANADARM, to his left there is another astronaut, sideways and working inside Hubble, which has two giant bay doors open at the bottom.

Astronauts spent a total of 171 hours and 3 minutes in the vacuum of space on Hubble spacewalks.

Two astronauts stand in a space shuttle cargo bay with Hubble behind them. The Earth, as seen from above in space, is in the background.

The longest spacewalk to repair Hubble was 8 hours and 15 minutes during Servicing Mission 3A.

Seventeen astronauts have taken spacewalks during Hubble missions.

Astronaut in a white space suit tethered to the Hubble Space Telescope floating in space.

Two astronauts service Hubble, one standing in the space shuttle cargo bay and one attached to a robotic arm, with the Earth in the background in the upper half of the picture. — Astronaut F. Story Musgrave, anchored on the end of the Remote Manipulator System (RMS) arm, prepares to be elevated to the top of the towering Hubble Space Telescope to install protective covers on magnetometers. Astronaut Jeffrey A. Hoffman (bottom of frame) assisted Musgrave with final servicing tasks on the telescope, wrapping up its first servicing mission (SM 1).
NASA

Two astronauts servicing Hubble using a robotic arm. Clouds above Earth's surface behind the telescope create the background. — On the fifth and final servicing mission (SM 4), astronauts John Grunsfeld (back) and Andrew Feustel (front) work to remove and replace the Hubble Space Telescope's Fine Guidance Sensor 2.
NASA

Two astronauts, attached to a robotic arm, service Hubble above the Earth, which takes up the whole background. — Steven L. Smith (right) and John M. Grunsfeld (left) use the RMS robotic arm to perform servicing tasks on the temporarily-captured Hubble Space Telescope (HST) during the third HST servicing mission (SM 3A), in December 1999.
NASA

Two astronauts service Hubble in the cargo bay of a space shuttle. The Earth is in the background of the upper half of the picture. — This wide-angle shot of the Hubble Space Telescope in the Space Shuttle Discovery’s cargo bay, backdropped against Australia, was taken during the second servicing mission to the telescope (SM 2). Steven L. Smith (center frame) and Mark C. Lee (on the RMS arm, right) conducted a survey of the hand rails on Hubble. In the foreground is the hatchway of the airlock that connects the airless payload bay to the shirt-sleeve environment of Discovery’s crew cabin.
NASA

An astronaut attached to a robotic arm prepares to re-open Hubble's folded-up solar panel "wings. The Earth below takes up most of the background. — During Hubble’s fourth servicing mission (SM 3B), astronaut Richard M. Linnehan, anchored on the end of the Space Shuttle Columbia’s RMS robotic arm, unfolds a solar array. Hubble’s second-generation flexible solar arrays were replaced with a new, rigid, third-generation solar array.
NASA

Using a robotic arm, an astronaut does maintenance work on Hubble. In the top third of the picture, Earth is seen in the background. — Perched on the end of the RMS, astronaut Andrew Feustel, mission specialist, performs work on the Hubble Space Telescope during the fifth servicing mission (SM 4), kicking off a week's work on the orbiting observatory.
NASA

A close-up view of two astronauts servicing Hubble, one tethered to the telescope on the left and one attached to a robotic arm in the center. The ground below on Earth takes up the entire background. — At Hubble’s third servicing mission (SM 3A), C. Michael Foale (left) and Claude Nicollier (right) work in Discovery's cargo bay during their spacewalk to install a new Fine Guidance Sensor (FGS). A desert area on Earth forms the backdrop for the photo. Nicollier represented the European Space Agency (ESA) on the mission, while Foale, one of NASA's astronauts, spent several months aboard Russia's Mir Space Station.
NASA

The success and longevity of the Hubble Space Telescope would not have been possible without the service of the 32 astronauts who flew across six missions to launch and repair the telescope. The results of their dedication and expertise helped to double Hubble’s lifespan and subsequently led to countless significant discoveries, furthering our knowledge of the universe.

Hubble astronauts come from a diverse range of professions: fighter pilots, oceanographers, veterinarians and more. They have advanced countless frontiers – professionally, physically, and even culturally – and have broken records both in space and on Earth. To learn more about the backgrounds and achievements of Hubble’s astronauts, click through the options below.

Facts

Repairs were made while orbiting Earth at 17,000 mph (27,359 kmph)
Hubble’s components are modules that astronauts can swap for new ones
Astronauts must train at least 10 hours in the neutral buoyancy lab (swimming pool simulator) for every hour of planned spacewalk time.
Over 400 astronaut crew aids and tools were made for Hubble's last servicing mission.

Meet the Astronauts

Like the rest of the Hubble team, our astronauts have a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences. Read more about our them with this collection of biographies.

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Seven astronauts--six men and one woman--stand in a line in orange astronaut suits, a few of them holding their helmets, with an image of the Hubble Ultra Deep Field in the background.

These seven astronauts took a break from training to pose for the STS-125 crew portrait. From the left are astronauts Michael J. Massimino and Michael T. Good, both mission specialists; Gregory C. Johnson, pilot; Scott D. Altman, commander; K. Megan McArthur, John M. Grunsfeld and Andrew J. Feustel, all mission specialists. The STS-125 mission was the final space shuttle mission to the Hubble Space Telescope.

NASA

Astronaut Missions

Across nearly 20 years from 1990 to 2009, Hubble had six space shuttle missions. The first, in 1990, was its deployment, which launched Hubble into Earth orbit to begin its observations. Between 1993 and 2009, astronauts made five more trips to Hubble--known as "servicing missions"--to repair, improve, and update the telescope.

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Astronauts John M. Grunsfeld (right) and Richard M. Linnehan, STS-109 payload commander and mission specialist, respectively, are photographed near the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) temporarily parked in the Space Shuttle Columbia’s cargo bay at the close of the fifth and final day of extravehicular activities (EVAs). Their spacewalk centered around the Near-Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS), to install a Cryogenic Cooler and its Cooling System Radiator.

NASA

Hubble Astronaut Fun Facts

Go beyond the bios! Just like you, NASA astronauts have many different hobbies and interests. Guess the answers to fun and interesting facts about our Hubble astronauts!

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Astronaut Scott Altman sits in the cockpit of a plane, shooting a thumbs-up to the camera.

Astronaut Scott D. Altman, STS-109 mission commander, photographed in a T-38 trainer jet, prepares for a flight at Ellington Field near Johnson Space Center (JSC).

NASA

Astronauts in Action: Watch as NASA astronauts upgrade and maintain Hubble while floating 340 miles above the Earth.

Hubble Astronauts

46 Images

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An astronaut on the end of the robotic arm with numerous tools. The blue earth is in the background

An astronaut at one of the gold covered cargo bay carriers with the earth and Hubble off to the right.

Two astronauts at the airlock on the shuttle with their helmet lights turned on.

An astronaut getting his photo taken with the earth and the astronaut with the camera in the reflection of his visor.

An astronaut working in the cargo bay a very blue earth in the background.

Two astronauts installing new solar arrays and electronics on Hubble.

An astronaut is moved on the end of a shuttle robotic arm in the cargo bay with numerous tools attached while another works lower right. Hubble and the earth are in the background.

An astronaut with the earth and sun in the background.

An astronaut floats in the cargo bay next to a gold carrier.

An astronaut with a power ratchet in one hand in front of Hubble. The shuttle cargo bay, gold carriers, and robotic arm are reflected in his visor.

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View some of the photos of the astronauts at work on Hubble servicing missions.

More Things Hubble

Hubble Science Highlights
Hubble’s most notable scientific discoveries reflect the broad range of research and the breakthroughs it has achieved.
Hubble E-books
Investigate the mysteries of the universe with Hubble. Learn Hubble's history. E-books dive deeper into Hubble discoveries and more.
Observatory Design
Hubble is the first space-based observatory specifically designed for servicing while in orbit. Learn more about its systems and design.
Hubble Timelines
Follow Hubble's journey from an idea of a "Large Space Telescope" to its position as one of the most scientifically productive and beloved telescopes of all time. Also follow its timelines of discoveries and servicing missions.