NASA is racing against time to save the Hubble Space Telescope
NASA is exploring a daring plan to save the legendary Hubble Space Telescope from its eventual fiery plunge into Earth's atmosphere.
NASA is exploring a daring plan to save the legendary Hubble Space Telescope from its eventual fiery plunge into Earth's atmosphere.
The short version
- After more than 35 years of groundbreaking discoveries, Hubble is slowly losing altitude, and without intervention, it could fall back to Earth as early as 2033 or 2034.
- To keep the iconic observatory operating, NASA is asking private space companies to propose innovative ways to boost Hubble into a higher orbit, upgrade its capabilities, or safely dispose of it when its mission finally ends.
- NASA is investigating whether private space companies could help extend the life of the Hubble Space Telescope, which has spent more than 35 years transforming our understanding of the universe.
What happened
On October 29, the agency issued a Request for Information seeking details about commercial technologies that could be used to service Hubble while it remains in orbit. The goal is to determine whether new spacecraft capabilities could keep the iconic observatory operating longer, improve its performance, or help bring its mission to a safe conclusion.
Why it matters
One possibility under consideration is sending a spacecraft to push Hubble into a higher orbit.
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