When Was the Hubble Space Telescope Launched?

NASA Hubble Space Telescope was deployed into low Earth orbit (about 547 km altitude) on 24 April 1990 from the Space Shuttle Discovery (mission STS-31). Named after astronomer Edwin Hubble, it was the first major optical telescope placed in space, above the distortion of Earth atmosphere. A flaw in its primary mirror was discovered shortly after launch, producing blurry images; a corrective optics package (COSTAR) was installed during a daring Space Shuttle servicing mission in December 1993, restoring full capability. Since then, Hubble has made over 1.5 million observations and produced some of the most iconic images in astronomy, fundamentally advancing our understanding of the universe.