{"id":916481,"date":"2026-11-13T23:26:14","date_gmt":"2026-11-13T23:26:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/916481\/"},"modified":"2026-11-13T23:26:14","modified_gmt":"2026-11-13T23:26:14","slug":"the-hubble-space-telescope-is-sinking-nasa-is-looking-for-ways-to-keep-it-afloat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/916481\/","title":{"rendered":"The Hubble Space Telescope Is Sinking. NASA Is Looking for Ways to Keep It Afloat"},"content":{"rendered":"

As telescopes go, few if any are more famous than the Hubble Space Telescope. Over 30 years of operations, the telescope has been essential to groundbreaking discoveries<\/a> that have fundamentally transformed humanity\u2019s view of the universe<\/a>. But like all satellites in low Earth orbit, it\u2019s been gradually descending.<\/p>\n

This happens because of atmospheric drag, and the Hubble Space Telescope is not equipped with a propulsion system to adjust its own orbit<\/a>. According to NASA\u2019s analysis, if left unchecked, the telescope will likely re-enter Earth\u2019s atmosphere in 2033 or 2034, eventually crashing<\/a> back onto the planet.<\/p>\n

Hoping to delay this conclusion, NASA has issued a formal Request for Information<\/a> seeking proposals from the private sector for \u201cin-space servicing\u201d of the famous telescope. This would likely involve raising Hubble\u2019s altitude to extend its operational lifespan, but the agency is also open to industry\u2019s suggestions for managing a safe and controlled reentry<\/a> or disposal of the telescope while still in orbit. Space companies can also propose upgrades to enhance the telescope\u2019s functionality in its remaining years.<\/p>\n

\u201cHubble is a national icon,\u201d Nicky Fox, associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, said in a statement<\/a>. \u201cGiven the time we have until Hubble\u2019s anticipated reentry, we are eager to explore the breadth of possibilities to boost Hubble to a higher orbit while we develop the flagship mission to follow<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Hubble<\/p>\n

Photograph: NASA<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As telescopes go, few if any are more famous than the Hubble Space Telescope. Over 30 years of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":916482,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[65167,31079,718,13540,79,193,9176],"class_list":["post-916481","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-science","tag-commercial-spaceflight","tag-hubble","tag-nasa","tag-satellites","tag-science","tag-space","tag-spacecraft"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/916481","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=916481"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/916481\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/916482"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=916481"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=916481"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=916481"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}