US space agency NASA seeks Hubble servicing and disposal options
NASA is asking companies how they could raise Hubble’s orbit, service it or dispose of it safely, with commercial responses due by 30 November 2026.
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NASA is asking companies how they could raise Hubble’s orbit, service it or dispose of it safely, with commercial responses due by 30 November 2026.
NASA issued a request on 29 October 2026 for commercial ideas to raise the Hubble Space Telescope’s orbit, service it or dispose of it safely. The agency is gathering information, not requesting formal proposals or awarding a mission contract. It has not specified an intervention budget.
Atmospheric drag gradually lowers Hubble’s orbit, and the telescope has no propulsion system to maintain its altitude. Without intervention, its eventual return to Earth’s atmosphere would be uncontrolled.
Hubble’s last servicing mission, STS-125, launched on 11 May 2009. Astronauts installed a soft-capture mechanism, a fitting designed to help a future spacecraft dock with the telescope.
NASA estimates the following probabilities of Hubble reentering Earth’s atmosphere, The Register said.
| By | Probability |
|---|---|
| September 2032 | 10% |
| December 2033 | 50% |
These probabilities do not set a fixed reentry date. Increased solar activity can produce more atmospheric drag than anticipated, affecting how quickly an orbit falls. The Register also described a remote risk of harm to someone on the ground because of Hubble’s mass.
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NASA puts demand for Hubble observing time at 7:1 relative to availability. The agency expects no replacement before the 2040s, when the Habitable Worlds Observatory could become operational. Hubble has switched to using a single gyroscope—a device that helps control where it points—to extend its operating life.
Before becoming NASA administrator, Jared Isaacman advocated a SpaceX mission to boost Hubble, but that proposal was rejected, The Register said.
Isaacman said NASA should explore innovative, cost-effective ways to keep Hubble producing science for longer.
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center leads the request, which envisages capturing Hubble without harming it. Respondents must describe their experience, technical approach, how ready their technology is for use, and how they would reduce risks. They must also give their earliest service date, cost and payment assumptions, and the resources they would need from NASA.
Under the proposed division of responsibilities, a provider would supply the launch vehicle, spacecraft and any crew, and operate the servicing vehicle. NASA would supply Hubble technical information, expert advice and coordinated operations.
NASA says commercial responses are due by 15:00 EST on 30 November 2026 (00:00 Yerevan time on 1 December). Because of Hubble’s anticipated reentry, the agency expects that an intervention mission would need to take place by 2032.
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