Canadarm was the robotic arm that captured the Hubble Space Telescope during the Space Shuttle Endeavour’s 1993 servicing mission.
The Canadian-built Remote Manipulator System was installed on the Space Shuttle Columbia in 1981. Astronauts controlled it from the shuttle’s flight deck to move payloads in orbit. During the first Hubble servicing mission, astronauts used the arm to grapple the telescope and position it for repairs and upgrades.
Hubble’s first servicing mission corrected a flaw in its primary mirror and installed corrective optics. The mission helped restore the observatory’s expected image quality and demonstrated the value of designing spacecraft for robotic and human maintenance.
Canadarm is distinct from Canadarm2, which is permanently attached to the International Space Station. The original arm traveled aboard space shuttles, while Canadarm2 is part of the station’s Mobile Servicing System.