Follow Us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter NASA is reviving discussions to rescue the Hubble Space Telescope, which is working well but is on track to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere within six years. The agency issued a request for information (RFI) on October 29 for “in-space servicing” capabilities, which could include boosting Hubble’s orbit (which is naturally decaying due to atmospheric drag), or even a mission to “enhance its capabilities” on some Hubble, which launched in April 1990 in partnership with the European Space Agency, was served five times by astronauts on space shuttle missions, most recently in 2009. The achievements The observatory’s innovative features include helping to demonstrate that the expansion of the universe is accelerating, a discovery that won the Nobel Prize, as well as a series of findings about planets, galaxies, stars and other parts of the universe. Hubble also regularly partners with other telescopes for scientific work and its observations have led to the publication of at least 23,000 scientific papers, NASA figures suggest. And despite its age, Hubble is still in high demand. “Astronomers request approximately seven times more observing time than is available each year,” the agency said in September. Hubble is also highly appreciated by the public. People have long enjoyed and celebrated his iconic images, such as the Eagle Nebula’s “Pillars of Creation,” a beautiful photograph that has been revisited several times over the decades. As such, this is not the first time in recent years that discussions have been opened about keeping the famous observatory in operation for a while longer. You may like In 2022, for example, billionaire technology entrepreneur Jared Isaacman proposed using SpaceX hardware to mount a Hubble servicing mission. (Isaacman also purchased and commanded two crewed SpaceX missions to Earth orbit, which flew in September 2021 and September 2024.) However, NASA refused, citing possible risks to the healthy observatory. But apparently things have changed. Isaacman, who in December 2025 became NASA administrator, said in an Oct. 30 agency statement that Hubble’s scientific return means the agency should “study all reasonable opportunities to continue operating for as long as possible,” especially if doing so would result in cost savings compared to launching another mission. In an Oct. 30 post on “That was then. It’s still worth the effort: Hubble is worth it,” he added. However, the new RFI also allows for alternative scenarios, which could include a “safe and controlled re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere or orbital deletion at the end of Hubble’s mission.” worked with Katalyst Space Technologies on a $30 million mission aimed at boosting the orbit of the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, which is also falling back to Earth due to orbital drag. That long-range rescue mission, which was rapidly developed to compete against accelerated solar activity, which inflated Earth’s atmosphere and increased drag, was successfully launched this summer. But control problems prevented Katalyst’s LINK spacecraft from rendezvousing with Swift. Swift is expected to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere tomorrow (Nov. 4) after 22 years of operations, well beyond its two-year lifespan.
