- Date
- 24–29 April 1990
- Launcher
- Space Shuttle
- Mission
- STS-31
#NASA#USA#Raketoplán#Space Shuttle#Discovery#Hubble
The Space Shuttle Discovery mission that deployed the Hubble Space Telescope in April 1990.
The Hubble Space Telescope was designed to observe the universe above the blurring atmosphere. The shuttle could carry the nearly eleven-ton observatory to an unusually high orbit and later return to service it.
Crew
COMMANDERLoren ShriverMission commander and experienced shuttle pilot.
PILOTCharles F. BoldenDiscovery pilot who later became NASA administrator.
MISSION SPECIALISTSteven A. HawleyMission specialist involved in payload operations.
MISSION SPECIALISTBruce McCandless IIMission specialist and veteran of earlier shuttle flights.
MISSION SPECIALISTKathryn D. SullivanMission specialist who had already become the first American woman to perform a spacewalk in 1984, before STS-31.
Mission timeline
Select a phase to read what happened. Every chapter has its own detailed page.
Discovery heads for orbit
Discovery lifted off carrying the most sensitive payload of its career: Hubble.
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The observatory leaves the payload bay
Using the RMS arm, the crew lifted Hubble from the payload bay and released it into its own orbit.
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Returning after eighty orbits
Discovery landed at Edwards after five days and 80 orbits.
Read the chapterMission in numbers
- Launch
- 24. 4. 1990, 12:33 UTC
- Duration
- 5 dní 1 h 16 min
- Orbits
- 80
- Orbit altitude
- 380 statutárních mil
Discovery carried Hubble to about 380 statute miles. The Canadian-built RMS arm held the telescope above the payload bay while the crew extended its solar arrays and antennas.
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New plates, trivia and behind-the-scenes updates as soon as they are ready.
Hubble was deployed on 25 April 1990 and the mission ended after 80 orbits. STS-31 began the work of one of history’s most influential astronomical observatories.
Facts
- Hubble was deployed at roughly 380 statute miles, higher than typical shuttle missions.
- Discovery travelled about 2.1 million miles during the five-day mission.
- Hubble fit the payload bay tightly, measuring about 13.1 metres in length.
Gallery
Related articles
Article on the timeline
Sources & further reading
- NASA: STS-31 — data, crew and Hubble deployment details.
- NASA Science: Deployment — Hubble’s deployment from Space Shuttle Discovery.
- NASA Science: Hubble History Timeline — STS-31 events.
Spaceflightpedia. (n.d.). STS-31. Retrieved 9 October 2026, from https://spaceflightpedia.com/article/sts-31
article text — CC-BY-SA · ◉ NASA photography — public domain · ✦ AI illustration — marked, generated from sources
