Outer Space Messenger: NASA and SpaceX Evaluate Mission to Save Hubble Space Telescope

NASA may reap an unexpected benefit from its commercial crew transport program. SpaceX approached the American space agency with an idea to potentially save the Hubble Space Telescope by extending its lifespan.

At this point, it’s just a cooperation agreement with no exchange of resources. But the company’s hope is to demonstrate the feasibility of bringing a Crew Dragon capsule to the satellite and, at the very least, elevating its orbit. Hubble currently revolves around Earth at an average altitude of 535 km. But that’s because it has already lost a lot of height, in the process of natural orbit decay due to the drag caused by the few molecules of the atmosphere existing at that distance.

If nothing is done, there is a 50% probability that the telescope will re-enter the atmosphere in 2037. With a mission that takes it back to the nominal altitude of 600 km, it would be possible to add 15 or 20 years to that date.

It is worth remembering that Hubble owes its good reputation precisely to its ability to be visited and updated periodically. When it was originally launched into space in 1990, it was discovered to have an imperfection in its primary mirror that prevented it from producing images of the expected quality. In essence, the telescope was launched “myopic”. But thanks to the first update mission, in 1993, it was possible to install “glasses” on the satellite and make it the sharp tool for deciphering the mysteries of the cosmos that it remains today.

In fact, Hubble is only still in operation because of that as well. A last manned mission to Hubble in 2009 allowed the updating of instruments and the installation of new gyroscopes, essential for aiming the telescope, in addition to the elevation of the orbit. Since 2011, however, with the retirement of the space shuttles, NASA had lost the ability to carry out these upgrade missions.

What the new study will try to investigate is whether there is a possibility of recovering this, at least partially, with a Crew Dragon, SpaceX’s capsule much more modest than the space shuttles. It won’t be easy, because Hubble and the old NASA spacecraft were “married”: their cargo area had the right structure to dock and give astronauts access to the telescope systems.

At least the orbit lift is expected to be feasible, but this could end up being a Pyrrhic victory: if the internal systems fail, it will just be more time with the satellite inert in orbit, turned into space junk. Hence the desire to investigate the possibility of also promoting reforms to the telescope, especially changing the essential gyroscopes. As part of the private Polaris Dawn program, funded by tycoon Jared Isaacman, NASA and SpaceX will analyze the possibilities over six months, before making any decision. It’s still too early to celebrate. But it’s already a breath of hope for telescope fans.

This column is published on Mondays, in Folha Corrida.

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