NASA released a Request for Information (RFI) on Thursday asking commercial companies for ideas on how to reboost, service or carry out a controlled disposal of the Hubble Space Telescope (Ars Technica). Responses are due November 30 (Ars Technica). The agency is not committing to buying a rescue mission (Ars Technica).
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman described the aim in a post on the agency’s site: “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” (The Verge).
Key Facts
| Item | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Request type | Request for Information to commercial companies | Ars Technica |
| Response deadline | November 30 at 3 PM ET | The Verge |
| Target altitude | At least 373 miles (600 km) | Ars Technica |
| Current altitude | Some 292 miles (470 km) | Ars Technica |
| Mission timing | Expected to occur by 2032 | Ars Technica |
Timeline
- 2026-10-31: Ars Technica reported that NASA had released the RFI on Thursday (Ars Technica).
- 2026-11-01: The Verge reported Isaacman’s statement on the effort and that the RFI stays open through November 30 at 3 PM ET (The Verge).
- 2026-11-30: Responses to the RFI are due (Ars Technica).
Details (as Reported)
NASA is seeking information about companies’ current and near-term capabilities for capturing Hubble and boosting it to an altitude of at least 373 miles (600 km), enhancing the telescope’s performance, or guiding it to a controlled reentry (Ars Technica). In the RFI, NASA wrote that “the boost and/or servicing mission must not harm the HST and that this mission is expected to occur by 2032” (Ars Technica). The contractor would provide the launch vehicle, servicing spacecraft, mission operations and “crew if applicable” (Ars Technica).
Hubble lacks onboard propulsion (Ars Technica). NASA last raised its orbit in 2002, when the Space Shuttle Columbia visited on a servicing mission (Ars Technica). The final shuttle servicing flight in 2009 did not reboost the telescope (Ars Technica). It took 24 years for Hubble to glide from 362 miles (583 km) in 2002 to its current orbit (Ars Technica).
Without a boost, the observatory will fall back into the atmosphere in the early-to-mid-2030s (Ars Technica). The Verge reported that Hubble is in no immediate danger of burning up (The Verge). Isaacman added that “if there are innovative and cost-effective ways to extend the life of an asset already on orbit, we owe it to the American taxpayer and the scientific community to explore them” (The Verge).
What Is Not Yet Confirmed
- NASA is not committing to buying a Hubble rescue mission (Ars Technica).
- Officials want to know who might be interested in mounting a mission, how much it would cost, and which companies could reach Hubble before reentry (Ars Technica).
- Orbital dynamicists currently forecast reentry in 2033 or 2034 without intervention, and the forecasts can change based on solar activity (Ars Technica).