Hubble Space Telescope: NASA seeks reboost ideas

The Hubble Space Telescope could be boosted to a higher orbit or serviced by a commercial company, after NASA issued a Request for Information on 29 October 2026 to learn about industry capabilities for in-space servicing of the telescope, the agency said.

Hubble Space Telescope: The Hubble Space Telescope returns to orbit after its second servicing mission in February 1997 — The Hubble Space Telescope returns to orbit after its second servicing mission in February 1997 Photo: NASA (public domain).

What NASA is asking about the Hubble Space Telescope

The Request for Information seeks commercial interest in three options: a mission to boost Hubble to a higher altitude to extend its science life; servicing Hubble to improve its capabilities; or carrying out a safe, controlled re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere or orbital disposal at the end of its mission. “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,” said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman. He said that if there are cost-effective ways to extend the life of an asset already in orbit, NASA owes it to taxpayers and scientists to explore them.

Key Facts

Telescope: Hubble Space Telescope (launched 1990)
Request for Information issued: 29 October 2026
Responses due: 30 November, 3 pm EST
Likely re-entry: 2033–2034
Mission needed by: 2032 (NASA estimate)

Why Hubble needs a reboost before re-entry

Like all spacecraft in low Earth orbit, Hubble’s altitude is slowly falling because of atmospheric drag, NASA said. The telescope has no propulsion system to keep up its own orbit, and analysis predicts it is likely to re-enter the atmosphere in the 2033 to 2034 timeframe. NASA therefore expects that any mission would need to take place by 2032. “Commercial industry has rapidly evolved in recent years to offer new capabilities for in-space satellite capture and servicing,” said Nicky Fox, associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. She said NASA is eager to explore ways to boost Hubble to a higher orbit while it develops the flagship mission to follow.

Deadline and who runs Hubble

The Request for Information is open for responses until 3 pm EST on Monday, 30 November, which is 1:30 am IST on 1 December. A Request for Information is a fact-finding step and does not commit NASA to a mission. Hubble has operated for more than three decades and continues to make discoveries, NASA said. Fox called it “a national icon that has fundamentally changed how humanity views our universe for more than 35 years”. Hubble is a project of international cooperation between NASA and ESA, the European Space Agency. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland manages the telescope and mission operations, and the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore runs its science operations. Lockheed Martin Space, based in Denver, also supports mission operations at Goddard, and the institute in Baltimore is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy.

Why It Matters: A reboost could keep the world's best-known telescope working into the late 2030s instead of re-entering within a decade.

Source: NASA: Commercial servicing for Hubble · NASA Hubble mission · ESA/Hubble