NASA Seeks Solutions to Save Hubble Space Telescope

NASA is asking private industry how it could save the Hubble Space Telescope, or bring it down safely, before the aging observatory falls out of orbit on its own. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, issued a Request for Information on Oct. 29 seeking commercial concepts to boost Hubble to a higher orbit, service it or guide it into a controlled reentry. Responses are due by 3 p.m. EST on Monday, Nov. 30. "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," NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said in the agency's announcement Friday. The request marks a sharp turn for the agency. Two years ago NASA said it would not pursue a commercial reboost of the 36-year-old telescope. HST RFI SAM-govDownload Three ways to go The RFI lays out three mission options. Companies can respond to one or more of them. Capture Hubble in low Earth orbit and boost it to at least 600 kilometers, or about 372 miles. Fly a servicing mission to improve Hubble's performance, make it more resilient and extend its expected life in orbit. Capture Hubble and steer it into a controlled reentry for disposal. Whatever the approach, the mission must not harm the telescope and must happen by 2032. Under the arrangement described in the RFI, the company would supply the launch vehicle, the spacecraft, any crew and the servicing vehicle operations. Goddard would share technical data on Hubble and coordinate rendezvous, capture and the rest of the mission. Astronauts work on installing the Hubble Space Telescope's corrective optics during Servicing Mission 1.Photo: NASA NASA also wants respondents to describe their technology readiness, risks and how they would reduce them. The agency asked how soon each company could launch, how much altitude it could add and the lowest altitude at which it could still reach the 600-kilometer target. Today, on X.com, Isaacman added, "There is an orbital altitude that is a point of no return, but still worth exploring the options. There was a far lower-cost solution on the table a few years ago that NASA SMD and STScI endorsed, but that was then. Still worth the effort--Hubble deserves it." What comes next An RFI is not a contract. NASA plans to use the responses to shape a formal Request for Proposals, though it has not set a timeline or budget for one. "Commercial industry has rapidly evolved in recent years to offer new capabilities for in-space satellite capture and servicing," said Nicky Fox, associate administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate. Whether this mission evolves from a request into an in-orbit mission heading to HST remains to be seen. There are technical and funding hurdles to climb, but the RFI is the starting point. Stay tuned. An image taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows Arp 273, a pair of interacting galaxies.Credit: NASA, ESA