NASA has asked commercial space companies for ideas to service the Hubble Space Telescope, boost its orbit, or bring it down in a controlled reentry. The agency posted a request for information on October 29, with a mission expected by 2032.
Hubble has had no servicing visit since the Space Shuttle flight STS-125 in May 2009. According to The Register, NASA puts the chance of an uncontrolled reentry at 10 percent by September 2032, rising to 50 percent by December 2033.
The notice lists three options: raise the telescope to at least 600 kilometres, service it to improve its performance and resilience, or perform a controlled disposal at the end of its mission. Hubble carries no propulsion system, so without intervention its eventual reentry would be uncontrolled.
NASA stressed that the notice is a request for information, not a funded mission. The agency also noted that no replacement for Hubble is expected before the 2040s, when the Habitable Worlds Observatory could become operational.
Source: The Register
