NASA begins probe into commercial services to extend Hubble Telescope's lifespan

NASA has begun exploring the possibility of procuring commercial services to keep the Hubble Space Telescope operational in space for a longer duration. NASA issued a 'Request for Information' (RFI) on 29 October to understand the capabilities of the industry in this regard. This step has been taken to extend the lifespan of the Hubble Telescope and continue its scientific operations.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman stated that Hubble still has significant science left to do, and we should explore every reasonable opportunity to keep it operational for as long as possible. He further added that if there are innovative and cost-effective ways to extend the life of an instrument already present in space, we are committed to finding them for American taxpayers and the scientific community. Extending Hubble's life will provide more opportunities for more exploration, more science, and expanding our understanding of the universe.

The Request for Information (RFI) released by NASA asks parties with commercial interest to express interest in three main areas: a mission to move Hubble to a higher orbit that could extend its scientific life; servicing Hubble to enhance its capabilities; or performing a safe and controlled re-entry into Earth's atmosphere or orbital disposal at the end of Hubble's mission.

According to Nikki Fox, Associate Administrator of the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington, Hubble is a national icon that has fundamentally changed the way humanity views the universe for over 35 years. She further stated that in recent years, the commercial industry has rapidly evolved to provide new capabilities for satellite capture and servicing in space. Given the time we have until Hubble's expected re-entry, we are eager to explore the possibilities of moving Hubble to a higher orbit while we develop our next flagship missions.

The Hubble Space Telescope returned to space as a refurbished telescope following its second servicing mission in February 1997. It was launched in 1990 and has since changed our fundamental understanding of the universe. Hubble is an international collaboration project between NASA and ESA (European Space Agency). NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, located in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages this telescope and mission operations. Denver-based Lockheed Martin Space also supports mission operations at Goddard. The Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, operated by the Universities Space Research Association, performs the science management of Hubble for NASA.

Currently, the cause for concern regarding Hubble's status is that, like all spacecraft in low Earth orbit, Hubble's altitude is gradually decreasing over time due to atmospheric drag. Hubble does not have its own propulsion system to maintain its orbit. According to analysis, Hubble could re-enter Earth's atmosphere during the 2033 to 2034 period. Therefore, NASA expects that a mission for this must be completed by 2032. The process for this information is available online and will remain open until 3 am (EST) on Monday, 30 November.

Meanwhile, the situation of another spacecraft, Swift, is different. According to a US Space Force report, the Swift observatory is likely to fall to Earth on Friday. Most of Swift's 1.5 tonne telescope is expected to burn up in the atmosphere, but according to NASA mission chief scientist Brad Senko, tungsten, which is denser than lead, and some mirror parts may survive the re-entry. If any debris survives, it will mostly fall into the ocean, but areas of Africa, Australia, India, Southeast Asia, and Central and South America fall within its re-entry zone.

Recovery efforts for Swift had failed. Due to intense solar activity in recent years, Swift had been pulled down faster than usual. NASA had assigned the task of saving Swift to Katalyst Space a year ago. The company's three daughter robots named 'Link' faced difficulties after being launched in July and could not get closer than 12 to 15 kilometres from the telescope. Ultimately, Link also returned to Earth in September. After recovery efforts were cancelled, Swift resumed observations, discovering more than 2,000 gamma-ray bursts and 1,400 exploding stars. However, by the end of October, the telescope had come too low to remain stable for observations, leading to its systems being shut down.

Astronomer John Nousek of Pennsylvania State University, who led the control team, stated, "We knew this day would come even before Swift was launched. In low Earth orbit, what goes up must come down. And its end is destructive." He further stated via email that he hopes the lessons learned from Swift's success can be applied to accelerate our search for the universe in next-generation space missions.

Swift was launched on November 20, 2004, and its primary objective was to detect the universe's largest explosions, such as gamma-ray bursts and supernovae. NASA considered Swift a 'first responder' for the Hubble and Webb telescopes, which could conduct deeper research based on alerts received from Swift. Scientists are still thinking about how to fill this void.