{"id":67633,"date":"2026-11-03T22:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-11-03T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/?guid=718a218d4a02c6620adc8af87948f07f"},"modified":"2026-11-04T09:02:37","modified_gmt":"2026-11-04T09:02:37","slug":"nasa-asks-industry-for-ideas-about-saving-hubble-space-telescope","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/2026\/11\/03\/nasa-asks-industry-for-ideas-about-saving-hubble-space-telescope\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA asks industry for ideas about saving Hubble Space Telescope"},"content":{"rendered":"\n                            \n                            <article>\n                                <p>NASA is reviving discussions to rescue the Hubble Space Telescope, which is operating well but is on track to reenter Earth's atmosphere about six years from now.<\/p><p>The agency issued a <a href=\"https:\/\/sam.gov\/workspace\/contract\/opp\/2ecd9dbf4a3946b4968cc0ebaa75d0b3\/view\" ><u>request for information<\/u><\/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><p>Hubble, which launched in April 1990 in partnership with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.space.com\/22562-european-space-agency.html\"><u>European Space Agency<\/u><\/a>, was serviced <a href=\"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/mission\/hubble\/observatory\/missions-to-hubble\/\"><u>five times<\/u><\/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 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.space.com\/13168-nobel-physics-universe-expansion-accelerating.html\"><u>won the Nobel Prize<\/u><\/a> \u2014 as well as a <a href=\"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/mission\/hubble\/science\/science-highlights\/\"><u>swath of finds<\/u><\/a> about planets, galaxies, stars and other parts of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.space.com\/52-the-expanding-universe-from-the-big-bang-to-today.html\"><u>the universe<\/u><\/a>.<\/p><iframe src=\"https:\/\/content.jwplatform.com\/players\/UDndus8z.html\" id=\"UDndus8z\" title=\"Purr-fectly Spooky! Hubble &amp; Webb Reveal Cosmic Cat in Space\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"auto\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe><p>Hubble also regularly teams up with other telescopes for science work, and its observations have led to the publication of <a href=\"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/mission\/hubble\/science\/science-highlights\/\" ><u>at least 23,000 scientific papers<\/u><\/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 <a href=\"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/missions\/hubble\/nasas-hubble-seeks-lensed-supernova-marks-200000-orbits\/\" ><u>stated<\/u><\/a> in September.<\/p><p>Hubble is also widely appreciated by the public. People have long enjoyed and celebrated its <a href=\"https:\/\/airandspace.si.edu\/stories\/editorial\/how-hubble-changed-way-we-picture-our-universe\" ><u>iconic images<\/u><\/a>, such as the Eagle Nebula's \"Pillars of Creation,\" a gorgeous shot that has been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.space.com\/pillars-of-creation-3d-tour-hubble-jwst-video\"><u>revisited<\/u><\/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><p>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 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.space.com\/inspiration4-spacex.html\"><u>September 2021<\/u><\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.space.com\/polaris-dawn-facts-about-mission\"><u>September 2024<\/u><\/a>.) NASA <a href=\"https:\/\/www.space.com\/jared-isaacman-hubble-space-telescope-reboost\"><u>declined<\/u><\/a>, however, citing possible risks to the healthy observatory.<\/p><p>But things have changed, apparently. Isaacman, who in December 2025 became NASA administrator, said in an <a href=\"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/missions\/hubble\/nasa-explores-potential-commercial-servicing-for-hubble-telescope\/\" ><u>Oct. 30 agency statement<\/u><\/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><p>In an <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/NASAAdmin\/status\/2116168920742904126\" ><u>Oct. 30 post on X<\/u><\/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><iframe src=\"https:\/\/content.jwplatform.com\/players\/7wIENwu0.html\" id=\"7wIENwu0\" title=\"Hubble telescope accidentally witnesses comet breaking apart\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"auto\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe><p>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><p>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><p>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><p>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 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.space.com\/space-exploration\/missions\/private-mission-to-save-nasas-swift-space-telescope-fails\"><u>control issues<\/u><\/a> prevented Katalyst's LINK spacecraft from meeting up with Swift. Swift is expected to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.space.com\/space-exploration\/missions\/nasas-swift-space-telescope-is-about-to-crash-to-earth-where-will-it-fall\"><u>reenter Earth's atmosphere<\/u><\/a> tomorrow (Nov. 4) after 22 years of operations \u2014 far past its two-year design lifetime.<\/p>\n                                                            <\/article>\n                            \n                        ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Hubble Space Telescope is healthy but is being pulled down toward Earth by atmospheric drag. NASA is considering options to extend the iconic telescope&#8217;s work.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":589,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[404,2084],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-67633","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-astronomy","category-hubble-space-telescope"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67633"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/589"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=67633"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67633\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":67635,"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67633\/revisions\/67635"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=67633"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=67633"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=67633"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}