The repaired and enhanced Hubble Space Telescope was released from the grasp of shuttle Discovery on Christmas Day to resume its observations of the universe. Hubble spent four days attached to Discovery during this third servicing mission. Images from NASA.

A fixed telescope The Hubble Space Telescope sits on a table platform aboard Discovery on Sunday. The craft was restored to working order after three days of spacewalks to repair the broken pointing system and replace aging electronics.
Let me loose Hubble's solar arrays are moved to the correct position for deployment. The telescope is ready to resume its science mission after a two-month hiatus caused by the crippled precision pointing system.
A firm hold French astronaut Jean-Francois Clervoy lifts Hubble out of the payload using Discovery's 50-foot robotic arm.
In position Hubble is maneuvered to the proper position for release. And for the first time since before the safe mode started two months ago, the aperture door atop the telescope is opened.
Release! Clervoy deploys the Hubble Space Telescope back into orbit about 373 miles above the South Pacific.
On its way Discovery begins backing away from Hubble after the deployment. The telescope is back on its own and under control of the new gyroscopes installed by the astronauts.
See you later Hubble as seen several hundred feet away from Discovery. The next time humans will get a close up view of the telescope will be on the next servicing mission in the summer of 2001.