The US space agency (NASA) announced Thursday that it has signed an agreement with SpaceX to study the feasibility of raising the Hubble Space Telescope to a higher orbit to extend its life.
Elon Musk’s “SpaceX” company proposes conducting this study to see if Al-Qassam can raise the mission of the “Hubble” site, using the company’s “Dragon” missile vehicle.
A slow regression is recorded in the orbit of the famous telescope, which has been positioned since 1990 at an altitude of 540 km above the Earth’s surface, due to the atmospheric friction that the telescope still encounters, albeit in small proportions.
explained statement NASA said that this study will take up to six months, to collect technical data from both Hubble and the “Dragon” spacecraft, explaining that this data will contribute to determining whether it is possible to meet, stabilize, and move the telescope safely to a more stable orbit.
According to the statement, the agency accepted this study, which does not entail any financial costs, and is not exclusive, and other companies can suggest similar studies using different missiles or spacecraft.
The Hubble Space Telescope does not have any self-propelled means, and in the past it was the American space shuttle missions that handled its altitude correction.
“A few months ago, SpaceX approached NASA with the idea of conducting a study to see if a commercial flight crew could help lift” the Hubble site, NASA scientific director Thomas Zurbuchen told the media, adding that the agency accepted to conduct this study, which does not arrange It has no financial cost.
Zurbuchen stressed that there are currently no concrete plans to implement or finance any mission of this kind, pending a thorough study of all the technical difficulties involved, as quoted by AFP.
One of the most prominent obstacles to the project is the lack of a robotic arm in the “Dragon” rocket, unlike the case with the space shuttles, which then requires modifications.
SpaceX proposed the idea in partnership with Polaris, a private spaceflight company.
Hubble is considered one of the most important scientific tools in history, and continues to make important discoveries, including its observation this year, the farthest single star ever, “Erndel”, whose light took 12.9 billion years to reach Earth.
Hubble project manager Patrick Krause said the telescope is currently scheduled to remain in service until the end of the current decade, with the possibility of losing 50 percent of its orbit by 2037.
“SpaceX and Polaris want to push the boundaries of current technology and explore how partnerships can creatively solve complex and challenging problems,” said Jessica Jensen, Vice President of Customer Operations at SpaceX.