Because Hubble was designed for in-orbit servicing by the STS, it had it's optics, CCD systems, and even the flight computers (not originally designed for in-orbit servicing!) replaced over the various servicing missions. The differences between WF/PC 1 and WFC 3 is the difference between going into space in 1990 with mid-80's hardware and going into space in 2009.
Since the 2009 Service Mission 4, Hubble tech has held steady, but until then it was regularly being upgraded to state-of-the-art.
State-of-the-art for what could survive space. It used 486's for quite a while. You are still very correct, I just think it's funny that the "best" is not always what people think.
Since the 2009 Service Mission 4, Hubble tech has held steady, but until then it was regularly being upgraded to state-of-the-art.