NASA asks more private space companies for proposals to raise Hubble’s orbit – Engadget 中文版

Although NASA is the first to start research with SpaceX to boost the Hubble Space Telescope, it does not object to the participation of other civil space companies.Earlier NASARequest proposals from private companies(Request for Information, RFI) to see what other ways Hubble could be raised, what the associated risks are, and what the chances of success are.

NASA emphasized that the RFI is only for evaluation purposes, not to pay for the actual lifting of the telescope, and if it is really implemented, it will be borne by private companies. This sounds like a disadvantage for private companies, but NASA believes that maintaining and “extending” satellites in space is a fairly large emerging market, and if it can serve the well-known Hubble Telescope, the satellite maintenance service It is a very good “advertisement” for the provider.

At present, of course, only SpaceX is eligible for RFI, while other willing participants must submit relevant documents before January 24 next year. In addition to giving NASA an idea of ​​the options currently available to the civilian space community, it will also give private companies a look at the unique problems that Hubble has left behind with its aging equipment and repeated maintenance.

In the RFI, NASA estimates that Hubble will drop to an altitude of about 500 kilometers around 2025. At that time, the risk of docking with it will increase greatly. Therefore, it is very possible that NASA will approve a civil mission before then. If nothing is done, Hubble is expected to burn up in the atmosphere in the mid-2030s.