Although two OAO missions were failures, the success of the other two increased awareness within the astronomical community of the benefits of space-based observations, and led to the instigation of the Hubble Space Telescope.
Meskipun dua misi OAO adalah kegagalan, keberhasilan dua lainnya meningkatkan kesadaran dalam komunitas astronomi manfaat pengamatan berbasis ruang, dan menyebabkan dorongan Hubble Space Telescope.