The Hubble Space Telescope could be lifted to new heights with the help of a private spaceship.
The space agency issued a Request for Information about a study that suggested how the Hubble Space Telescope could be re-boosted.
NASA's request for information comes at a time when it is considering the future of the space telescope.
There are the best Hubble Space Telescope images.
The Hubble telescope's position above Earth has been decaying since 1990. Hubble's operating lifetime could be delayed by years if it is raised to a higher and more stable altitude.
NASA used the shuttle to reboost the telescope five times. In 2009, the last shuttle servicing mission, was done. The shuttles were retired by NASA in 2011.
The idea to raise Hubble to a higher altitude using a Dragon spaceship at no cost to the government was the brainchild of the Polaris Program, a private program of space missions funded by a billionaire. The agreement between NASA and SpaceX was signed in September of 2022.
NASA doesn't have any plans to operate or fund a new Hubble servicing mission, so the study was designed to help determine the commercial viability of such a mission. The technical challenges of such a service endeavor were laid out in the study.
The study is not exclusive and other companies can propose their own Hubble servicing studies if they choose.
The studies will collect data from Hubble and the Dragon spaceship to see if it is possible to safely rendezvous and dock with the space telescope. 6 months is how long the studies are expected to take.
The study is an example of innovative approaches NASA is exploring through private-public partnerships.
The operation to reboost Hubble would show how old satellites could be given extended lives.
"SpaceX and the Polaris Program want to expand the boundaries of current technology and explore how commercial partnerships can creatively solve challenging complex problems," said Jessica Jensen. It would help all of us achieve our goals of becoming a space-faring, multiplanetary civilization if we were able to service Hubble.
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