So when SpaceX recently approached NASA and offered to raise the telescope to a higher altitude to extend its life, NASA was intrigued.
On Thursday, NASA and SpaceX announced that they would investigate the feasibility of such a mission. In a way, this is yet another partnership between the space agency and SpaceX, as NASA looks to leverage its growing capabilities in the commercial space sector to advance its scientific and exploration goals. Elon Musk’s company has already delivered supplies and NASA astronauts to the International Space Station.
But Hubble’s mission, if realized, would represent a new dynamic. This is made possible by the fact that SpaceX has already sold several spaceflight missions to billionaire tech entrepreneurs and is eager to push the boundaries.
Last year, Jared Isakman, founder of payment processing company Shift4 Payments, commissioned a trip to SpaceX that sent him and three other civilians into space for three days, making him the first crew to reach orbit with only civilians. Isaacman now pays three more flights. Each trip is designed to enter a new area as part of what he calls the “Polaris Program”.
The first plan, due in March, is to send another civilian crew further than any other manned space flight mission since Apollo. That mission will also include the first private spacewalk for an astronaut.
While preparing for the March trip, Isaac remained silent about what the second trip would entail. But he revealed Thursday that he hopes to send a civilian crew to take Hubble into a higher orbit. This could be achieved “with little or no cost to the government,” he said.
But for NASA, the proposal is baffling. You can’t just give SpaceX or Isaacman a mission, even if it’s given free to the government. Federal procurement regulations state that competition is required to provide such services. As such, agency officials stressed that the study on Isaac Mann’s proposal was just research. Over the next six months, NASA and SpaceX will discuss how the company’s Dragon spacecraft will dock with the telescope, what modifications need to be made, and even how the mission will be autonomous without a crew on board. He said he would investigate whether it could be done.
“NASA has no plans to conduct, fund, or compete for the service mission,” NASA said in a statement. This study is designed to help agencies understand commercial potential.”
He added that the study “is not exhaustive and other companies may suggest similar studies using different rockets and spacecraft as models.”
Since Hubble’s launch in 1990, NASA has sent the telescope five service missions. In 1993, preliminary work was done to fix an issue affecting the sharpness of images returned by the Hubble Primary Mirror. But when the space shuttle retired in 2011, NASA had no way back to Hubble and accepted that its beloved telescope would eventually die.
But now, not only does NASA have SpaceX, which has a record of successfully docking with a space station, but a whole new industry is emerging to repair and refuel satellites in space, and if not breathe new life into things that might fall. Far, aloof, on. It is undesirable on the right track.
For example, in 2020, a spacecraft built by Northrop Grumman was captured by a fuel-depleted communications satellite operated by Intelsat. Once attached, the Northrop spacecraft essentially becomes a tow truck, handling the satellite’s thrust and ensuring it maintains its correct orbit and orientation.
Hubble Space Telescope project manager Patrick Close said that if SpaceX or another company could lift Hubble up 40 miles, “we could easily extend the mission’s orbital life by 15 to 20 years.” I am here.
For more than 30 years, Hubble has given us “a clear and detailed view far beyond any previous universe. It represents the evolution of those moons,” NASA says.
Yes, the Webb Telescope is located a million miles from Earth and can go 13.5 billion years back to the dawn of the universe. But according to the space agency, it was never conceivable that Webb would replace Hubble.
“The goal is for the two telescopes to operate simultaneously and make joint observations for several years,” NASA said.
However, NASA’s only option to extend Hubble’s life is to look to the private sector.
“The business partnerships we’ve learned open the door to exciting new opportunities to explore the natural sciences by offering new ideas and innovative ways to support them,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, director of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate.