Which space shuttle launched the Hubble Space Telescope?

The space shuttle that launched the Hubble Space Telescope was Discovery. During mission STS-31, Discovery lifted off from Kennedy Space Center on April 24, 1990, and deployed Hubble into low-Earth orbit the following day.

STS-31 was the 35th mission of NASA’s Space Shuttle program and Discovery’s tenth flight. Its primary objective was to place Hubble above Earth’s atmosphere, where the telescope could observe the universe in visible, ultraviolet, and near-infrared wavelengths without atmospheric distortion. The crew also conducted experiments and filmed portions of the mission with IMAX cameras.

The mission used an unusually high orbit so Hubble would have a long operational life. Discovery briefly reached the highest altitude ever flown by a shuttle orbiter at that time. One of Hubble’s solar arrays initially malfunctioned while unfurling, but the telescope was successfully released.

A common mix-up is Atlantis, which was originally assigned to an earlier planned Hubble launch before the Challenger disaster changed the schedule. Discovery ultimately carried out the historic deployment on STS-31.