NASA, SpaceX to Study Hubble Telescope Reboost Possibility

he non-exclusive SpaceX examine concerning the probabilities of reboosting the Hubble House Telescope is ongoing. On Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, NASA issued a Request for Info to hunt extra details about business capabilities accessible to reboost a satellite tv for pc in orbit, utilizing Hubble as an indication, for free of charge to the federal government.

There are not any plans at the moment for NASA to conduct or fund a devoted Hubble servicing mission. The Request for Info will stay open till Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2023, as NASA continues exploring choices for Hubble’s future.

NASA and SpaceX signed an unfunded House Act Settlement Thursday, Sept. 22, to check the feasibility of a SpaceX and Polaris Program thought to spice up the company’s Hubble House Telescope into a better orbit with the Dragon spacecraft, for free of charge to the federal government.

There are not any plans for NASA to conduct or fund a servicing mission or compete this chance; the examine is designed to assist the company perceive the business potentialities.

SpaceX – in partnership with the Polaris Program – proposed this examine to higher perceive the technical challenges related to servicing missions. This examine is non-exclusive, and different corporations might suggest related research with totally different rockets or spacecraft as their mannequin.

Groups count on the examine to take as much as six months, accumulating technical information from each Hubble and the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft. This information will assist decide whether or not it will be attainable to soundly rendezvous, dock, and transfer the telescope right into a extra secure orbit.

“This examine is an thrilling instance of the progressive approaches NASA is exploring by private-public partnerships,” mentioned Thomas Zurbuchen, affiliate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “As our fleet grows, we wish to discover a variety of alternatives to assist probably the most strong, superlative science missions attainable.”

Whereas Hubble and Dragon will function check fashions for this examine, parts of the mission idea could also be relevant to different spacecraft, significantly these in near-Earth orbit like Hubble.

Hubble has been working since 1990, about 335 miles above Earth in an orbit that’s slowly decaying over time. Reboosting Hubble into a better, extra secure orbit may add a number of years of operations to its life.

On the finish of its lifetime, NASA plans to soundly de-orbit or get rid of Hubble.

“SpaceX and the Polaris Program wish to broaden the boundaries of present know-how and discover how business partnerships can creatively resolve difficult, complicated issues,” mentioned Jessica Jensen, vice chairman of Buyer Operations and Integration at SpaceX.

“Missions reminiscent of servicing Hubble would assist us broaden area capabilities to finally assist all of us obtain our targets of turning into a space-faring, multiplanetary civilization.”

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NASA, SpaceX study boosting Hubble to extend its lifespan

Washington (AFP) Sept 29, 2022

NASA and SpaceX have agreed to check the feasibility of awarding Elon Musk’s firm a contract to spice up the Hubble House Telescope to a better orbit, with a purpose of extending its lifespan, the US area company mentioned Thursday.