NASA issued a Request for Information on October 29 seeking details about commercial technologies that could service the Hubble Space Telescope in orbit. The agency wants to determine whether private spacecraft capabilities could extend Hubble's operational life, improve its performance, or enable a safe retirement.
One option under consideration involves sending a spacecraft to boost Hubble into a higher orbit. Hubble's altitude gradually decreases due to atmospheric drag in low Earth orbit. Without propulsion of its own, the telescope cannot reverse this decline. NASA's analysis projects Hubble will reenter Earth's atmosphere sometime between 2033 and 2034, leaving a narrow window for any servicing mission to occur by 2032.
Other possibilities include in-space servicing to upgrade Hubble's capabilities, or arranging for controlled deorbiting when its scientific work ends.
"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."
Nicky Fox, associate administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate, added that "commercial industry has rapidly evolved in recent years to offer new capabilities for in-space satellite capture and servicing."
Hubble has operated for more than 35 years. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center oversees the telescope. The Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore handles scientific operations. NASA is accepting responses to its Request for Information until 3 p.m. EST on November 30.