From the Archive · Mission Collection

STS-61: The Mission That Saved Hubble

Endeavour · December 2–13, 1993 · Five spacewalks to restore the Hubble Space Telescope — and one of the most completely documented missions in our archive.

Credit: NASA
59Video RecordingsLaunch, EVAs, operations, briefings
5Spacewalks DocumentedComplete EVA coverage
48TranscriptsSearchable, speaker-labeled
64Records PreservedAcross the full mission

The Collection

STS-61 is one of the most detailed missions in the archive. It holds the complete video footage of all five spacewalks59 video recordings in all — along with the on-orbit work that captured and repaired the Hubble Space Telescope, mission operations, and the press conferences that surrounded the flight.

Together, these records reconstruct the mission end to end: the launch, the rendezvous and capture of Hubble, each EVA in sequence, the installation of the corrective optics and new instruments, and the release that restored the telescope's scientific capability.

Why It Matters

Hubble had launched with a flawed mirror, and STS-61 was the mission that made it right. Preserving the full visual record — not just highlights — lets researchers, historians, and documentary producers study how one of NASA's most consequential repair missions actually unfolded, minute by minute.

Browse every STS-61 record in the catalog →

What the Collection Includes

Notable material preserved for this mission.

Five complete spacewalksGyroscope, solar array, WFPC2, and COSTAR installation across EVAs 1–5.
Hubble capture & repair footageRendezvous, grapple, on-orbit servicing, and release of the telescope.
Launch & mission operationsAscent coverage and mission television from the flight.
Press conferences & briefingsCrew and program briefings surrounding the servicing mission.

Explore the full STS-61 collection.

Browse every preserved record — spacewalks, operations, and briefings — or ask our team to help locate a specific moment.