{"id":674154,"date":"2026-11-03T23:46:09","date_gmt":"2026-11-03T23:46:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/674154\/"},"modified":"2026-11-03T23:46:09","modified_gmt":"2026-11-03T23:46:09","slug":"nasa-asks-industry-for-ideas-about-saving-hubble-space-telescope","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/674154\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA asks industry for ideas about saving Hubble Space Telescope"},"content":{"rendered":"

request for information<\/a> (RFI) on Oct. 29 for “in-space servicing” capabilities, which could include boosting Hubble’s orbit (which is naturally degrading due to atmospheric drag), or even a mission to “enhance its capabilities” in some way.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Hubble, which launched in April 1990 in partnership with the European Space Agency<\/a>, was serviced five times<\/a> by astronauts on space shuttle missions, the most recent being in 2009. The observatory’s groundbreaking achievements include helping to show that the expansion of the universe is accelerating \u2014 a discovery that won the Nobel Prize<\/a> \u2014 as well as a swath of finds<\/a> about planets, galaxies, stars and other parts of the universe<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Hubble also regularly teams up with other telescopes for science work, and its observations have led to the publication of at least 23,000 scientific papers<\/a>, NASA figures suggest. And, despite its age, Hubble remains in high demand. “Astronomers request about seven times as much observing time as is available each year,” the agency stated<\/a> in September.<\/p>\n

Hubble is also widely appreciated by the public. People have long enjoyed and celebrated its iconic images<\/a>, such as the Eagle Nebula’s “Pillars of Creation,” a gorgeous shot that has been revisited<\/a> several times over the decades. As such, this is not the first time in recent years that discussions have opened about keeping the famed observatory running for a while longer.<\/p>\n

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In 2022, for example, billionaire tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman proposed using SpaceX hardware to mount a Hubble-servicing mission. (Isaacman also purchased and commanded two crewed SpaceX missions to Earth orbit, which flew in September 2021<\/a> and September 2024<\/a>.) NASA declined<\/a>, however, citing possible risks to the healthy observatory.<\/p>\n

But things have changed, apparently. Isaacman, who in December 2025 became NASA administrator, said in an Oct. 30 agency statement<\/a> that Hubble’s science return means the agency should “be looking at every reasonable opportunity to keep it delivering for as long as possible” \u2014 especially if doing so would be a cost savings compared with launching another mission.<\/p>\n

\"Space\"<\/p>\n

In an Oct. 30 post on X<\/a>, Isaacman added that it’s “still worth exploring the options” and noted that NASA had previously considered “a far lower-cost solution” to keep the observatory flying. “That was then. Still worth the effort \u2014 Hubble deserves it,” he added.<\/p>\n

The new RFI also allows for alternative scenarios, however, which could include a “safe, controlled reentry into Earth’s atmosphere or orbital disposal at the end of Hubble’s mission.”<\/p>\n

Hubble will naturally enter the atmosphere in 2033 or 2034 due to orbital drag, so any attempt to service it would have to be in 2032, the agency stated.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, NASA worked with Katalyst Space Technologies on a $30 million mission that aimed to boost the orbit of the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, which is also falling back to Earth due to orbital drag.<\/p>\n

That long-shot rescue mission \u2014 which was developed quickly to race against accelerated solar activity, which ballooned Earth’s atmosphere and increased drag \u2014 launched successfully this summer. But control issues<\/a> prevented Katalyst’s LINK spacecraft from meeting up with Swift. Swift is expected to reenter Earth’s atmosphere<\/a> tomorrow (Nov. 4) after 22 years of operations \u2014 far past its two-year design lifetime.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter NASA is reviving…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":674155,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[61,60,82,247],"class_list":["post-674154","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-space","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-science","tag-space"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/674154","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=674154"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/674154\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/674155"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=674154"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=674154"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=674154"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}