STS-61

STS-61
Mission	STS-61
Operator	NASA
Spacecraft	Space Shuttle Endeavour
COSPAR ID	1993-060A
Mission duration	11 days, 5 hours, 27 minutes, 03 seconds
Launch date	December 2, 1993
Launch site	Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39B
Landing date	December 13, 1993
Landing site	Edwards Air Force Base Runway 22
Orbit periapsis	558 km
Orbit apoapsis	600 km
Orbit inclination	28.45°

STS-61 STS-61 was a United States crewed Space Shuttle mission that performed the first servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope using the Space Shuttle Endeavour and a crew drawn from NASA astronaut corps, European Space Agency, and associated mission specialists. The mission repaired optical problems on the Hubble Space Telescope and upgraded instruments, restoring the telescope's intended performance and affecting subsequent astronomy observations, astrophysics research, and public engagement with space science.

Mission overview

The mission objective centered on correcting the aberrated primary mirror of the Hubble Space Telescope through installation of corrective optics and replacement of scientific instruments and subsystems. Command and control responsibilities were managed by NASA Kennedy Space Center, with flight operations coordination at Johnson Space Center and mission integration involving the Goddard Space Flight Center and the Marshall Space Flight Center. International participation included technical support from the European Space Agency and engineering contributions from contractors such as Lockheed Martin, PerkinElmer Corporation, and Ball Aerospace.

Crew

The seven-person crew combined veteran and first-time spacewalkers from diverse aerospace backgrounds. The commander was a NASA astronaut experienced with earlier shuttle flights; the pilot held prior missions and training at Naval Air Station test programs. Mission specialists included representatives who had trained at Johnson Space Center and engaged with operations at the Goddard Space Flight Center, while the crew also collaborated with flight controllers at Mission Control Center Houston and with payload teams at Kennedy Space Center.

Preparations and payload

Preparations involved coordinated effort between the Hubble Space Telescope project office at Goddard Space Flight Center and the shuttle integration teams at Kennedy Space Center, with hardware supplied by PerkinElmer Corporation, Ball Aerospace, Raytheon, and other aerospace contractors. The payload bay accommodated replacement instruments, corrective optics, and support equipment assembled at Marshall Space Flight Center and Lockheed Martin Space Systems. Test rehearsals occurred at the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory linked to Johnson Space Center and at facilities used by United Space Alliance and Rockwell International technicians.

Shuttle flight and timeline

Endeavour lifted off from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39B and achieved orbit with parameters coordinated by the Johnson Space Center flight dynamics officers; rendezvous and proximity operations with the telescope leveraged guidance from the Goddard Space Flight Center mission planners and the Mission Control Center Houston team. The crew conducted multiple extravehicular activities (EVAs) staged with support from the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory training staff and operated the shuttle's robotic arm provided by Canadarm contractors at Spar Aerospace and supported by MDA Space. Time-critical maneuvers required concurrence from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station range safety and collaboration with United States Air Force tracking assets. Landing occurred at Edwards Air Force Base with recovery operations coordinated by the Dryden Flight Research Center teams.

Hubble Space Telescope servicing details

During a series of complex spacewalks, astronauts removed and replaced instruments including corrective optics designed by teams at PerkinElmer Corporation and Ball Aerospace and installed the corrective package that realigned Hubble's imaging capability. Work addressed the primary mirror spherical aberration by installing a corrective optics instrument built under guidance from Goddard Space Flight Center scientists and optical engineers with contributions from the European Space Agency optical teams. Crewmembers replaced the Wide Field and Planetary Camera with its updated configuration, exchanged gyroscopes and batteries maintained by Lockheed Martin, and upgraded electronics overseen by Raytheon engineers. The EVAs required coordination with mission planners at Johnson Space Center and real-time support from the Mission Control Center Houston flight controllers.

Post-mission outcomes and legacy

Successful restoration of the Hubble Space Telescope's imaging performance catalyzed a renaissance in observational programs at institutions such as the Space Telescope Science Institute, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, and international observatories. The repaired telescope delivered transformative datasets used by researchers at California Institute of Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Princeton University, University of Cambridge, European Southern Observatory, and the National Optical Astronomy Observatory. The mission influenced subsequent servicing missions planned by NASA and operational procedures adopted by Goddard Space Flight Center and the Space Telescope Science Institute, while its success informed public outreach campaigns by Smithsonian Institution museums and inspired exhibits at the National Air and Space Museum. The technical achievements reinforced partnerships among NASA, European Space Agency, Lockheed Martin, Ball Aerospace, and academia, shaping future programs at organizations such as Jet Propulsion Laboratory and global programs in astronomy and astrophysics.

Category:Space Shuttle missions Category:Hubble Space Telescope