NASA Looks to Commercial Space Industry to Rescue Hubble
Hubble's Uncertain Future
The Hubble Space Telescope will come crashing to Earth sometime in the 2030s without a boost.
A Commercial Solution?
NASA hopes the commercial space industry can help save Hubble. As the agency evaluates options for extending the iconic observatory's life, it is turning to private-sector capabilities—including commercial reboost and satellite-servicing technologies—to keep Hubble operational well into the next decade.
Why Hubble Needs a Boost
Hubble orbits at roughly 540 kilometers (about 335 miles) above Earth. Without periodic reboosting, atmospheric drag gradually lowers the telescope's altitude until it reenters Earth's atmosphere and burns up. NASA has not flown a servicing mission to Hubble since the space shuttle retired in 2011, and the telescope has no onboard propulsion system capable of raising its orbit independently.
The 2026 Context
By 2026, the commercial space landscape has matured considerably. Companies including SpaceX, with its Crew Dragon and Starship vehicles, and other firms developing orbital servicing spacecraft are positioned to offer reboost and repair capabilities that were once the exclusive domain of government missions. A proposed commercial reboost concept—studied in partnership with SpaceX in the early 2020s—could serve as a template for future efforts, pairing a robotic spacecraft or crewed capsule with Hubble to raise its orbit.
What's at Stake
Hubble has delivered more than three decades of groundbreaking science, from refining the Hubble constant to capturing the deep-field images that reshaped our understanding of the universe. Keeping the telescope alive would preserve a unique scientific asset while NASA focuses on newer observatories such as the James Webb Space Telescope.
The Path Forward
Any commercial rescue mission would need to balance cost, technical risk, and scientific return. NASA continues to weigh whether a reboost is feasible before Hubble's orbit decays beyond recovery, making the coming years decisive for the telescope's fate.
via The Verge