The five Hubble Telescope servicing missions
You wouldn’t know it now, but the Hubble Space Telescope experienced some serious vision problems shortly after its launch in 1990. The problem was deemed fixable, resulting in service missions made possible by the Space Shuttle. These missions were also done to extend the lifespan of the space telescope. Hubble “was the first telescope designed to be visited in space by astronauts to perform repairs, replace parts and update its technology with new instruments,” according to NASA. In total, five service missions took place from 1993 to 2009, requiring astronauts to work outside the Shuttle.
