NASA and SpaceX have reached an agreement to examine the feasibility of awarding Elon MuskThe contract was awarded to the company by the Hubble Space Telescope, to lift it to a higher orbit. This would allow for the extension of its life expectancy. The US space agency stated Thursday.
The famous observatory is located at 335 miles (540 km) above Earth in an orbit that gradually decays over time.
Hubble does not have an on-board propulsion system to counter the atmospheric drag that exists in this area of space. Its altitude was restored by Space Shuttle missions.
A SpaceX Dragon capsule would be used in the proposed new effort.
“Several months ago, SpaceX approached NASA about the idea of studying whether a commercial crew could boost our Hubble spacecraft,” NASA chief scientist Thomas Zurbuchen explained to reporters. He added that the agency had agreed not to pay for the study.
He stated that there are not any plans to fund or conduct such a mission at the moment, until technical issues are better understood.
The Dragon spacecraft is not equipped with a robotic arm like the Space Shuttles and would require modifications to be able to carry out such a mission.
SpaceX was approached by the Polaris Program to explore the idea. Jared Isaacman is a payments billionaire who has chartered a SpaceX Crew Dragon and three private astronauts to orbit the Earth.
Isaacman stated, “This would certainly fit within our Polaris program parameters,” in answer to a question on whether Hubble’s reboosting might be the goal of a future Polaris missions.
Zurbuchen responded to a reporter when asked if there was a perception that the mission had been conjured in order to give wealthy people tasks in space.
Hubble is arguably the most important instrument in scientific history. He continues to make significant discoveries, including this one. Finding the farthest star individual ever seen – Earendel, whose light took 12.9 billion years to reach us.
According to Patrick Crouse (hubble Space Telescope project manager), it is expected to stay operational for the next ten years, with a 50% chance of de-orbiting by 2037.
