Released in 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope It is one of the great achievements of humanity. 33 years have passed since it was put into orbit and it works almost perfectly. But, little by little, it is becoming exorbitant, and although the plan for the future is to sink it into the sea, some companies like SpaceX propose to keep it active longer.
this telescope from NASA and ESA It is located 593 kilometers above sea level, weighing about 11 tons, with a length of 13.2 meters and a diameter of 4.2 meters.
It has four instruments to obtain images and spectra, as well as three fine-guided sensors. In all the time you’ve been in space, Hubble received five servicing missions, even a rescue by retired NASA technicians.
Hubble’s contribution to science is immeasurable, discovering clues about the existence of black holes, capturing images of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 and the Eagle, Keyhole and Cat’s Eye nebulae, and the Sombrero, Antennae and NGC 6302 galaxies.
But, putting aside the plan to shoot him down, What are the proposals to keep it active?
Proposals to keep the Hubble Space Telescope in orbit
OK with the Space portal, the companies Momentus and Astroscale contacted NASA to work with the telescope. Your goal is use a rocket, dock with the telescope, and move its orbit about 50 kilometers higher.
Later they would clean orbital debris in the vicinity of Hubble.
The big problem with the Momentus and Astroscale is that they would require of a significant investment and NASA probably doesn’t have enough, in the midst of Artemis’s voyages.
In addition, there is another proposal SpaceX, Elon Musk’s company, to put Hubble into a much higher orbit, working in conjunction with billionaire Jared Isaacman’s Polaris Program.
In 2022, Jessica Jensen, an executive at SpaceX, noted: “We are going to look at Dragon’s capabilities and how they should be modified, to rendezvous and safely dock with Hubble.”
“The details of exactly how you do that physically, and how we do it safely from a trajectory standpoint, That’s all that remains to be resolved.” Jensen added.
Hubble would be in orbit up to 20 more years. The old telescope remains vigilant in space, waiting to find out what the authorities will do with it.