TRUE

The Hubble Space Telescope was successfully launched into low Earth orbit on April 24, 1990, as the primary payload of the STS-31 mission (NASA). Carried aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery, the telescope was deployed the following day at an altitude of approximately 380 miles to minimize atmospheric interference (ESA). The mission was led by Commander Loren Shriver and Pilot Charles Bolden alongside mission specialists Steven Hawley, Bruce McCandless, and Kathryn Sullivan (NASA Technical Reports Server).13 While the project faced significant delays following the 1986 Challenger disaster, its eventual 1990 launch marked a pivotal moment in modern astronomy by providing unprecedented views of the universe (NASA Science).