Timeline of the Hubble Space Telescope
Hubble's development and scientific career from Lyman Spitzer's 1946 proposal through launch, servicing missions, astronomical discoveries and the transition to single-gyroscope operations in 2024.
- Category
- Engineering & Technology
- Events
- 24 events 1946 – 2024
- Generated
- by gpt-6-astra, as reported by the donor
1946: Lyman Spitzer proposes an orbiting observatory
Astronomer Lyman Spitzer wrote a report proposing an observatory in Earth orbit. The proposal helped establish the scientific case for a telescope operating above Earth's atmosphere.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubble_Space_Telescope#Proposals_and_precursors1977: Congress funds the Large Space Telescope
The United States Congress approved funding for NASA's Large Space Telescope. NASA awarded contracts for the optical system and spacecraft structure, moving the observatory toward construction.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubble_Space_Telescope#Quest_for_funding1981: Space Telescope Science Institute established
The Space Telescope Science Institute was established in Baltimore as the center for the space telescope's science operations. Operated by AURA for NASA, it would manage Hubble's scientific program.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Telescope_Science_Institute1986: Challenger disaster delays Hubble's launch
The Challenger disaster grounded the shuttle fleet and delayed Hubble's launch. During the delay, engineers upgraded telescope systems and performed further tests before flight.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubble_Space_Telescope#Challenger_disaster,_delays,_and_eventual_launch1990: Discovery carries Hubble into orbit
Space Shuttle Discovery launched with Hubble on April 24, 1990, during mission STS-31. Astronauts released the telescope into orbit on April 25, beginning its career as a space observatory.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-311990: Engineers trace blurred images to mirror error
Early Hubble observations revealed spherical aberration in its primary mirror. Flawed equipment used to test the mirror during manufacture had allowed an incorrect curvature, producing fuzzy halos around stellar images.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubble_Space_Telescope#Flawed_mirror1993: Astronauts install optics to correct Hubble's images
During Hubble's first servicing mission, astronauts installed the Corrective Optics Space Telescope Axial Replacement and the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2. These additions compensated for the primary mirror's shape error and restored the telescope's intended imaging performance.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-611994: Hubble strengthens evidence for M87's black hole
Hubble measured rapid rotation in a disk of hot gas at the center of Messier 87. The inferred concentration of unseen mass provided strong evidence for a massive black hole at the galaxy's core.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messier_871995: "Pillars of Creation" image released
Hubble's "Pillars of Creation" image was released on November 2, 1995. It showed columns of gas and dust in the Eagle Nebula, where stars form within dense material that is also being eroded by light from nearby stars.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pillars_of_Creation1996: Astronomers release the Hubble Deep Field
Released on January 15, the Hubble Deep Field combined exposures taken in December 1995 of a small patch of sky. Its many distant galaxies offered a powerful new view of galaxy formation and evolution.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubble_Deep_Field1997: Astronauts expand Hubble's infrared and spectroscopic capabilities
Hubble's second servicing mission installed the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph and the Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer, expanding the observatory's spectroscopic and infrared capabilities.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-821998: Supernova observations reveal accelerating cosmic expansion
Two teams studying distant Type Ia supernovae found that the universe's expansion was accelerating, with Hubble contributing to the observations. The result challenged expectations of gravitational slowing and supported models containing dark energy.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accelerating_expansion_of_the_universe1999: Astronauts restore Hubble after gyroscope failures
After gyroscope failures halted Hubble's observations, astronauts replaced its gyroscopes and main computer during a December shuttle mission. The flight restored the telescope's capabilities and completed the first part of a servicing program divided between two visits.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-1032001: Key Project refines the universe's expansion rate
Wendy Freedman and colleagues published the final results of the Hubble Space Telescope Key Project, which used Cepheid variable stars to calibrate astronomical distances. The work narrowed uncertainty in the Hubble constant and strengthened the cosmic distance scale.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wendy_Freedman2001: Astronomers announce an exoplanet atmosphere detection
On November 27, astronomers announced Hubble's detection of sodium in the atmosphere of HD 209458 b during transits of its star. This was the first direct detection of an exoplanet atmosphere and demonstrated transit spectroscopy's ability to identify atmospheric gases.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HD_209458_b#Exosphere2002: Astronauts install the Advanced Camera for Surveys
A shuttle servicing mission installed the Advanced Camera for Surveys, replaced Hubble's solar arrays and added an electric cooling system for NICMOS. The cooler revived the infrared instrument after its original coolant had run out.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-1092004: NASA cancels Hubble's final shuttle servicing visit
NASA canceled Hubble's planned final servicing mission in January 2004 over safety concerns following the 2003 Columbia disaster. Following a reassessment of the risks, NASA reinstated the mission in October 2006.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-125#Mission_history2004: NASA releases the Hubble Ultra-Deep Field
Released on March 9, the Hubble Ultra-Deep Field combined observations taken from September 2003 to January 2004. It provided a deeper visible-light view of distant galaxies and new evidence for studying galaxies in the early universe.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubble_Ultra-Deep_Field2005: Hubble finds Pluto's moons Nix and Hydra
Hubble images revealed two small moons of Pluto, later named Nix and Hydra. Further Hubble observations discovered Kerberos in 2011 and Styx in 2012, helping the New Horizons team plan its Pluto flyby and assess potential hazards.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moons_of_Pluto#History2009: Astronauts complete Hubble's final servicing mission
Hubble's final shuttle servicing mission installed Wide Field Camera 3 and the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph. Astronauts also repaired the Advanced Camera for Surveys and Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph and replaced aging spacecraft hardware.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-1252016: Hubble measures the distant galaxy GN-z11
Astronomers announced Hubble observations of GN-z11, reporting it as the most distant galaxy then known. The surprisingly bright galaxy offered a view of the universe at a very early stage of its history.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GN-z112019: Distance measurements deepen the Hubble tension
Adam Riess and colleagues used Hubble observations of Cepheids in the Large Magellanic Cloud to refine the cosmic distance ladder. Their expansion-rate estimate strengthened the disagreement with predictions inferred from the early universe.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubble%27s_law#Measurements_of_the_Hubble_constant2022: Hubble reveals the distant source Earendel
On March 30, astronomers announced Earendel, a gravitationally magnified source in Hubble images, as the most distant individual star then detected. Later studies using Webb data suggested it could instead be a star cluster.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earendel_(astronomical_object)2024: Hubble resumes science with one gyroscope
Hubble resumed science observations on June 14 after switching to a pointing mode that uses one gyroscope, with another working gyro kept in reserve. The change followed repeated faulty readings from a third gyro and allowed observations to continue with some observing limitations.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubble_Space_Telescope#Gyroscope_rotation_sensors