On This Day in Space History

A CHRONICLE OF SPACEFLIGHT

THE SPACE RACE · THE SHUTTLE ERA · ROBOTIC EXPLORATION · 1957–PRESENT

Welcome to On This Day A daily chronicle of humanity in space — the launches, landings, spacewalks, and firsts that mark the space age. Start here. Read the welcome →
April 24
Space Shuttle
Mission
Space Shuttle
Series
NASA
Venue
Kennedy Space Center, Florida, USA
Date
April 24, 1990
Agency
NASA
Nickname
Hubble Space Telescope is deployed
Crew
Loren Shriver
Bruce McCandless

Hubble Space Telescope is deployed

Space Shuttle Discovery launched on mission STS-31 and deployed the Hubble Space Telescope into orbit the following day. Despite an initial flaw in its mirror later corrected by astronauts, Hubble revolutionized astronomy with iconic deep-space images.

Read the full story →

Did you watch it live?