NASA is looking into teaming up with SpaceX to extend the life of the Hubble Space Telescope by decades
during a press conference. “We expect Hubble will remain operational until the later part of this decade if not into the next.”
But with no plans to boost the spacecraft’s orbit or service it, the craft’s demise is inevitable. By the late 2020s, NASA will have to start planning a mission to dispose of it safely, most likely by lowering it until it splashes down in the ocean. As of now, that’s expected to happen in the late 2030s.If SpaceX can give Hubble a boost, it could delay that.
to dock with Hubble and push it into a more stable orbit around 600 kilometres up. “You’d add easily 15 to perhaps 20 years of orbit life to the mission if we could achieve that altitude,” said Crouse.have been crewed, but it’s plausible this one could be automated. It may not just be a boost, either – Space Shuttle crews also performed repairs and upgrades, and astronauts on this potential mission could do the same.Jessica Jensen during the press conference.
While the prospect of extending the life of the Hubble Space Telescope is exciting, it still may not be possible, NASA associate administratorwarned in the press conference. The study itself will last about 6 months, after which NASA officials will determine whether it’s feasible to start planning a mission in earnest. “We won’t last forever, but we’re trying to last as long as we can,” said Crouse.
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