Hubble: NASA consults companies on its future
· BehindLines newsroom
NASA wants to find out what options companies can offer to extend Hubble's life or to prepare the end of its mission. In a statement published on 30 October, the agency announces a request for information issued on 29 October. This step explores several scenarios; it does not mean that an intervention has been decided.
Three avenues are mentioned: boosting the telescope to a higher orbit, servicing it to improve its capabilities, or arranging a controlled re-entry or another form of orbital disposal. Responses are expected until 30 November at 3 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. No selected contractor, launch vehicle or launch date is announced in this statement.
The problem comes down to altitude. As a historical ESA/Hubble page explains, the atmosphere is not entirely absent at the altitudes where the telescope operates. Its drag gradually slows the spacecraft, which slowly loses height and, without correction, would eventually re-enter the atmosphere.
Hubble has no propulsion of its own to make up for this decline. During earlier servicing missions, the Space Shuttle was used to raise its orbit. This precedent explains the principle of a boost, without showing that any current commercial vehicle already has all the capabilities required. The European page describes those past operations, not this week's American consultation.
According to the forecasts cited by NASA, re-entry could occur in 2033 or 2034; the agency therefore estimates that a mission would need to take place by 2032. These timeframes remain forecasts. The consultation is meant to help examine the technical options before any eventual decision, which has not been taken at this stage.