Establish a space telescope

1 The big launch

Getting a large space telescope into space requires an incredibly powerful rocket to take it into low-Earth orbit. Since NASA was in the middle of its Space Shuttle Program in 1990, Hubble was launched inside Discovery.

2 Reaching low-Earth orbit

To get Hubble into place, Discovery soared to a height of 600 kilometres (373 miles) above Earth, separating itself from the three boosters. At this height, Discovery’s crew of five was able to document the operation.

3 Unfurling the solar array

As the Hubble Space Telescope was removed from Discovery’s cargo bay, the remotely operated Canadarm robotic arm was unfurled. However, one of Hubble’s solar arrays refused to fully unfurl, so an emergency spacewalk was prepped.

4 Launching Hubble into place

Following five days of operation – which included a number of experiments – the Hubble Space Telescope was tested and separated from Discovery. As it began its long vigil above Earth, Discovery and its crew returned home.