Evolution of science data processing for the Hubble Space Telescope: a user's perspective

Upgrades of the science instrument complement on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and observing strategy innovations have combined to greatly increase the number of observations and the volume of data during the first decade of HST operations. At the same time, the data processing component of HST operations has undergone a parallel evolution in strategy and implementation, partly in response to the increased volume of data from HST while reducing staffing requirements, and partly due to the phasing out of old technologies and the exploring of new ones. This paper describes the original HST data processing strategy and implementation, how it has evolved to the current design today, and where it may be going for future space telescope missions (HST, NGST, et al.).