Berliner Abendpost - NASA Seeks Commercial Proposals to Extend Hubble Space Telescope's Life

NASA has issued a formal Request for Information seeking private-sector proposals to extend the operational lifespan of the Hubble Space Telescope. The agency is inviting commercial space companies to submit plans for in-space servicing, which could involve raising the telescope’s altitude to delay its inevitable reentry into Earth's atmosphere.

According to NASA’s analysis, the 34-year-old observatory is gradually descending due to atmospheric drag. Unlike many modern satellites, Hubble lacks a propulsion system to adjust its own orbit. If left unchecked, the telescope is projected to re-enter the atmosphere in 2033 or 2034, eventually crashing back onto the planet.

The request for information outlines several potential avenues for commercial involvement. Proposals could focus on raising Hubble’s altitude to extend its operational life, managing a safe and controlled reentry while the telescope remains in orbit, or proposing upgrades to enhance functionality during its remaining years. The agency is also open to industry suggestions for the eventual disposal of the telescope.

"Hubble is a national icon," Nicky Fox, associate administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate, said in a statement. "Given the time we have until Hubble’s anticipated reentry, we are eager to explore the breadth of possibilities to boost Hubble to a higher orbit while we develop the flagship mission to follow."

The need for external assistance marks a shift from the telescope's operational history. Hubble was originally designed with the expectation that astronauts would perform repairs and upgrades in orbit. Since its launch in 1990, five service missions have been conducted. The fifth and final shuttle-based mission occurred in 2009, after NASA determined that the scientific benefits of servicing outweighed the risks following the 2003 Columbia disaster. That crew replaced batteries and other components to extend the telescope's life.

This is not the first time NASA has looked toward commercial resources for orbital maintenance. In September 2022, the agency entered a nonfunding partnership agreement with SpaceX to investigate using its Dragon spacecraft to move Hubble into a more stable orbit. At the time, NASA stated it had no plans to conduct or fund the service mission itself, viewing the study solely as an assessment of commercial feasibility.

More recently, NASA commissioned Katalyst Space Technologies in September 2025 to perform an orbital raise for the Swift Observatory, which was experiencing faster-than-expected orbital decay. However, that mission failed when the company’s spacecraft, launched in July 2026, suffered an attitude control malfunction. Swift reentered the atmosphere over Indonesia on November 4.

Hubble is also facing internal hardware challenges. In June 2024, NASA announced that the telescope would transition to a new operating mode using only one of its six gyroscopes to assess orientation. After more than three decades in space, only three gyros remained operational, with one returning abnormal readings. The remaining functional gyro has been placed in a ready state for future use.

NASA estimates that a mission to raise the telescope’s orbit must be carried out by 2032. In a 2022 announcement, the agency noted that if Hubble could be moved to a higher, more stable orbit, it could continue observing the cosmos for several additional years.

"Hubble still has important science ahead of it, and we should be looking at every reasonable opportunity to keep it delivering for as long as possible," NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said. "If there are innovative and cost-effective ways to extend the life of an asset already in orbit, we owe it to the American taxpayer and the scientific community to explore them. Extending Hubble’s life would mean more discoveries, more science, and more opportunities to expand our understanding of the universe."

The telescope continues to provide critical data as NASA evaluates how best to preserve its legacy before its final descent.

X.Konrad--BlnAP