As the first Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission, STS-61 had three primary objectives: restoring the planned scientific capabilities of the telescope, restoring reliability of HST's systems, and validating the HST on-orbit servicing concept. At 11 days, and with its very heavy workload, the STS-61 mission was one of the most sophisticated in the Shuttle's history. Crew members completed five EVAs (spacewalks), a record to date.

The attached is a swatch of beta cloth material flown aboard STS-61 as part of the orbiter's payload bay liner. Installed over insulation blankets (in a manner similar to window screening) the liner helped maintain the cleanliness of the payload bay and as such was replaced between missions where configuration needs, damage or discoloration demanded. This liner sample is from a NASA-created and distributed commemorative bookmark.