Discovery and its seven member crew launched February 11, 1997, beginning the second Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission. The STS-82 crew completed upgrading of the HST during four planned extravehicular activities and then performed a fifth unscheduled space walk to repair insulation on the telescope.

The attached is a swatch of beta cloth material flown aboard STS-82 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.