NASA reopens Hubble servicing question with industry request

A reversal from 2022

NASA issued the request for information on 29 October. It covers an orbit boost for Hubble or a mission to "enhance its capabilities" in some way.

In 2022, billionaire Jared Isaacman proposed using SpaceX hardware to mount a servicing mission. NASA declined, citing possible risks to a healthy observatory. Isaacman became NASA administrator in December 2025. In a 30 October statement, he said Hubble's science return meant NASA should "be looking at every reasonable opportunity to keep it delivering for as long as possible". A post on X the same day added that it is "still worth exploring the options".

Hubble should reenter Earth's atmosphere in 2033 or 2034 as drag pulls it down. NASA says any servicing attempt would have to fly in 2032. The agency is deciding now whether to pay for a rescue or let the telescope die. It is also deciding whether it buys servicing from a commercial operator rather than a replacement. There is no published cost estimate, funding source or decision date.

Hubble's clock

Hubble launched in April 1990. Shuttle astronauts serviced it five times, most recently in 2009.

Its observations have led to at least 23,000 scientific papers. NASA said in September that astronomers request about seven times as much observing time as is available each year.

Drag, not instrument failure, sets the deadline.

The Swift rescue shows the risk

Earlier this year NASA worked with Katalyst Space Technologies on a $30 million mission to boost the orbit of the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory. Swift was also falling back to Earth because of drag. The mission launched successfully this summer. Control issues then stopped Katalyst's LINK spacecraft from meeting Swift. Swift should reenter on 4 November after 22 years of operations, against a two-year design lifetime.

The rehearsal failed at the rendezvous, not at the launch.

Hardware for hire

Commercial servicing is still young. Three former SpaceX engineers founded Argo Space in late 2022. The company builds spacecraft that use water as propellant, coolant and radiation shield, Ars Technica reported. Its Navigator demonstration flew in July on a Falcon 9 rideshare. One of two rollout solar arrays failed to deploy. The spacecraft stayed power-negative, and there was not enough energy left to test the propulsion system.

The debris side is moving faster.

ClearSpace UK built the UK Space Agency's first national mission. The mission will grab two defunct satellites and guide them back towards Earth to burn up. The agency says nearly 13,000 working satellites orbit Earth today, with around 60,000 possible by 2030. Its competition to name the mission closes on 10 December 2026.

Orbital Matter says its Replicator 2 satellite launched this summer. The satellite printed a half-meter beam in orbit, according to TechCrunch. Its engineers believe 100-meter booms are feasible. SpaceX's Starlink V2 satellites are among the most powerful mass-produced satellites in orbit. They use solar arrays 20 meters long.

What happens next

The request also allows for a "safe, controlled reentry into Earth's atmosphere or orbital disposal at the end of Hubble's mission".

Whether NASA treats servicing as a purchase or a one-off rescue is the question the industry now has to answer on paper. Hubble's science is not in doubt. Its budget line is.