The Hubble Space Telescope was carried into orbit by the Space Shuttle Discovery in April 1990 and is named after the American astronomer Edwin Hubble. Although not the first space telescope, the Hubble is one of the largest and most versatile, and is the only telescope ever designed to be serviced in space by astronauts four times. The latest repairs to the Hubble will allow the telescope to function until at least 2013, when its successor, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), is due to be launched. __
