NASA issued a Request for Information on October 29 seeking industry capabilities for commercial in-space servicing of the Hubble Space Telescope. The agency is exploring three options: boosting Hubble to a higher altitude to extend its science lifetime, servicing the telescope to enhance its capabilities, or performing a safe, controlled re-entry or orbital disposal at mission end.
"Hubble still has important science ahead of it, and we should be looking at every reasonable opportunity to keep it delivering for as long as possible," said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman. "If there are innovative and cost-effective ways to extend the life of an asset already on orbit, we owe it to the American taxpayer and the scientific community to explore them."
Hubble lacks a propulsion system to maintain its orbit. Atmospheric drag is slowly decreasing its altitude. NASA analysis predicts the telescope will re-enter Earth's atmosphere in the 2033 to 2034 timeframe, meaning a servicing mission would need to occur by 2032.
Nicky Fox, associate administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate, noted that commercial industry capabilities for satellite capture and servicing have expanded rapidly in recent years. The Request for Information remains open for responses until 3 p.m. EST on Monday, November 30.
Hubble, a joint project between NASA and the European Space Agency, has operated for more than three decades. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the telescope and mission operations.