Today in the history of astronomy, the revolutionary space telescope is carried to orbit.

| Published: April 24, 2026

The Hubble Space Telescope is deployed from Space Shuttle Discovery, beginning a career that has spanned over three decades. Credit: NASA/Smithsonian Institution/Lockheed Corporation

Long before humanity could venture into space, astronomers dreamed of a telescope above Earth’s obscuring atmosphere. In 1962, this dream took a step toward reality when a National Academy of Sciences study group recommended the development of a space telescope .

NASA launched two Orbiting Astronomical Observatories in 1968 and 1972. Both produced a wealth of information, and support for a space telescope grew. But it was the space shuttle, with its capacity to deliver and service large payloads, that finally made the concept feasible.

NASA selected a team of scientists in 1973 to establish the basic design of such a telescope and its instruments.…