It’s been 15 years since NASA’s groundbreaking Hubble Space Telescope was last manned by astronauts.
And the aging observatory, which has been orbiting our planet in low Earth orbit since 1990, is looking a little worse for wear. Ongoing technical problems forced teams back to the site to halt scientific activities time and time again.
That’s why billionaire space tourist Jared Isaacman, who has already circled Earth in the SpaceX Crew Dragon, said he’s willing to foot the bill for a maintenance mission to repair the aging telescope.
But like NPR reports, whether NASA is willing to take him up on the offer remains to be seen. Emails obtained by the broadcaster suggest that agency scientists are still weighing the risks and benefits of such a mission. After all, the potential for damage to the telescope was always there, even when NASA’s space shuttle came in on its visits.
“This is a fantastic savings for NASA, but also a very challenging concept for NASA’s legal and procurement issues,” NASA Astrophysics Program Manager Barbara Grofik wrote in a December 2022 email obtained by NPR.
And a retired Hubble operations expert named Keith Kalinowski, who helped evaluate the plan, wrote that while it favored a “well-planned” mission to service the orbiter, Isaacman’s plan was “unnecessary and risky.”
Current program manager for the International Space Program, Dana Wiegel, also wrote that “SpaceX’s view of risk and willingness to accept risk is significantly different than NASA’s,” highlighting “the complexity of the design that is required for a safe restart and the extreme immaturity of the spacesuit.”
“The other problem is the need to restart now versus later,” wrote astronaut John Grunsfeld, who has performed numerous previous Hubble repairs. “There may not be an opportunity with Polaris, but NASA can work with Congress and the administration to request funds for a mission to restart or improve Hubble using a commercial partner where NASA is in the lead [sic] seat, and the maturity of space systems is higher and lower risk.”
Another astronaut who worked on Hubble repairs, Scott “Scooter” Altman, said NPR that he felt incredibly relieved after the repairs were completed and “we are not the crew that killed the Hubble Space Telescope, the most amazing scientific instrument ever used by man.”
It’s an unusual clash of decades-old technologies that have revolutionized the world of astronomy and cutting-edge space exploration, highlighting the tension between the space agency and the booming private space industry that has made significant strides in recent years, thanks in large part to SpaceX.
Isaacman was the commander of the first all-civilian space mission, in which a crew of four circled Earth in SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft in September 2021.
For years, he has pushed for the sustainment mission, claiming “there is only limited planning time” in the January tweet. “I’m a little concerned that the ‘clock’ is running out on this game.”
But SpaceX still has a lot to prove. First, the company has yet to prove that astronauts can safely exit the company’s Crew Dragon capsule.
At least that part may soon change. Isaacman has bought a set of three private space missions as part of the Polaris program, including an upcoming mission called Polaris Dawn that will see astronauts donning SpaceX’s recently announced EVA suit to perform the first private spacewalk later this year.
Meanwhile, NASA is exploring the idea of a private crew visiting Hubble on the Isaacman penny from 2022.
The investigation included a visit by Isaacman to NASA facilities to discuss what the Hubble maintenance mission would entail.
But despite some initial optimism, Hubble experts have expressed concern that SpaceX doesn’t have the experience or ability to work on the observatory for decades. Approaching Hubble with its massive solar panels could prove extremely difficult and risky.
SpaceX’s spacecraft also does not have a robotic arm like NASA’s Space Shuttle, which was used to service Hubble five times between 1993 and 2009. Without an airlock, the entire capsule would have to be depressurized during a spacewalk, then is resealed afterwards.
For now, all eyes are on SpaceX and Isaacman, who will try to make the first “commercial EVA,” as he put it earlier this month. “This is the first time you don’t have, you know, government astronauts undertaking a mission like this.”
Fortunately, there is still time. Hubble is still in remarkably good shape for its age, and NASA hopes to continue using it well into the 2030s.
More on Hubble: Hubble broke down again
