The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) was installed onboard HST during Servicing Mission (SM) 2 in 1997 and operated until an electronic failure in 2004. It resumed operations with all ultraviolet and optical channels in 2009 after it was successfully repaired during SM4.

STIS is a versatile imaging spectrograph, providing spatially resolved spectroscopy in the UV and optical, high spatial resolution echelle spectroscopy in the UV, solar-blind imaging in the UV, and direct and coronagraphic imaging in the optical. Further information about STIS instrument characteristics and performance over time is available on the STIS web pages in Handbooks, Reports, and Newsletter articles.