NASA just confirmed SpaceX will service Hubble Space Telescope recently it was revealed that NASA
and SpaceX had entered into a space act agreement to investigate the viability of using the crew
Dragon to reboost and perhaps maintain the Hubble Space Telescope those who value science and space
exploration will be happy to hear this in the more than 30 years at Hubble has scanned the cosmos it
has delivered an amazing amount of scientific data not to mention stunning photos what do you think
will this be viable let's find out hello everyone and welcome back to Elon Musk Evolution where we
bring you the most recent news about Elon Musk and his multi-billion dollar companies but before we
begin make sure you subscribe to our Channel and click the Bell icon so you don't miss out on any
of our amazing videos and let's get started NASA built the Hubble Space Telescope to be maintained
by the space shuttle the choice was fortunate because it was discovered that the Hubble's
mirror had a fault shortly after it was launched in 1990. the problem was addressed in various
other improvements were put into place during the maiden shuttle service Voyage in 1993. a total of
five Hubble service missions were carried out by NASA with the final one taking place in 2009 not
long before the space shuttle program came to an end for as long as possible NASA intended to
use the Hubble the six gyroscopes on the Hubble have all failed and three of them according to
RS Technica are progressively degrading the orbit of the Space Telescope by the end of this decade
according to NASA the Hubble Space Telescope will have to be shut down and re-entered into Earth's
atmosphere under controlled conditions the SpaceX commercial crew program which took over from the
space shuttle to transport people to and from the International Space Station as currently in its
third presidential term the first commercial crew flights took conducted in the final year of the
Trump Administration after a rocky start caused by the political gas by the Obama Administration
and opposition from Congress currently spacex's crew dragon is not only maintaining humans on
board the International Space Station but it has also begun to do private trips like last
year's and inspiration for additionally the much delayed Boeing Starliner is expected to
begin launching to the ISS in 2023 in the midst of a flourishing commercial space economy SpaceX
and philanthropist and billionaire Jared isaacman made NASA an intriguing offer to investigate the
viability of deploying a crew Dragon to relaunch and possibly maintain the Hubble Space Telescope
a six-month study for just such a trip will be carried out thanks to a contract Inked by NASA
and SpaceX Isaac meant already provided funding for the inspiration for Mission which helps
Saint Jude's Children's Research Hospital raise a staggering sum of money the first crew dragon
mission of his Polaris program a series of crew drag admissions is due to launch in March 2023.
the Hubble Space Telescope might be visited by a Polaris mission in the future at the briefing
Thomas zurbakkin NASA's associate administrator for science stated we want to know what the
options are commercial Partnerships we have found have opened the door to new and exciting prospects
from NASA scientific and Technology exploration by offering new ideas and inventive ways to support
them the statement reads the basic idea is for a crew Dragon spacecraft to connect with Hubble
possibly by using a capture device set up during the final shuttle maintenance mission in 2009 and
then raise its orbit according to Patrick Krauss project manager for the Hubble Space Telescope
at NASA's Goddard space flight center that orbit gradually degraded due to Air drag and it is now
at a distance of around 535 kilometers by 2037 there's a 50 chance that Hubble will re-enter
the atmosphere due to ongoing degravation the famous space telescope's lifespan could
be extended by 15 to 20 years of NASA permits a crew dragon mission to the Hubble for the
benefit of furthering science and inspiring the general public that translates to an additional
20-plus years worth of amazing photographs and helpful science one objective of such a mission
according to him would be to increase Hubble's orbit back to 600 kilometers where it was when
it was first launched from the shuttle more than three decades dates ago you'd easily had 15 to
perhaps 20 years of orbit life to the mission he continued if we were to get back to 600 kilometers
NASA anticipates that Hubble will continue to operate until the end of the decade and maybe
into the beginning of the following one it's still in good working order both NASA and SpaceX however
stated that they would at the very least take into account the possibility of Performing some sort of
servicing on the telescope while on such a voyage Kraus stated we wouldn't anticipate being at the
level of complexity of some of the servicing missions that were achieved with the shuttle
and NASA astronaut teams from the past but were thrilled to look at what options are available
with our commercial Partners according to Jessica Jensen vice president of customer operations and
integration at SpaceX the study will last around six months part of it's going to be finding out
the cost and figuring out a little bit of the schedule what it's going to take to make this
happen and make it happen safely she added the technical elements of a reboost or servicing
Mission will be the study's main area of attention she said she noted that everything was up for
discussion including whether astronauts would be required for the Expedition there will be many
difficulties with a private reboost and servicing trip to any crew using the Space Telescope
will need to be careful with it because it is a delicate instrument for months of preparation the
crews of the space shuttles that performed Hubble servicing flights made sure they wouldn't harm the
telescope there would be some risk involved in a private operation however if NASA and SpaceX work
together to launch a Hubble Mission the Prudence of commercializing space flight would have been
demonstrated once more commercial Rockets already Supply and staff the International Space Station
for a fraction of the price of NASA space shuttle it is a convincing idea to extend the Hubble Space
telescope's useful Life by two decades for a small portion of the price of a space shuttle servicing
flight if NASA and SpaceX move through with a trip it may be a component of the Polaris program a
plane that Isaac man and SpaceX unveiled earlier this year for a number of crude flights on crew
dragon and subsequently Starship to evaluate the viability of human space flight the first Polaris
trip Polaris Dawn which is currently set for the first quarter of 2023 will be piloted by isakman
who oversaw the private inspiration for crew Dragon flight last year the first spacewalk from a
crew Dragon spacecraft would take place during the voyage even while SpaceX has a lot of experience
carrying out Dragon missions to the International Space Station it hasn't yet tried any form of
satellite reboost or maintenance the development of robotic in-space service technology is being
done concurrently by a number of businesses Northrop grumman's Mission extension vehicle
is one illustration two of these vehicles are connected to Intel scent communication satellites
in geostationary orbit to prolong their lifespan Zur Buchan said when asked how NASA would evaluate
those additional satellite servicing Alternatives we at Nasa would look at any or all solutions that
are in the interest of the taxpayer an anonymous industry Insider said NASA should explore
potential service options in a more formal manner than the existing contract with SpaceX the process
would begin with a request for information asking businesses for suggestions on how to restart or
maintain Hubble NASA Representatives defended the recent report according to Kathy looters associate
administrator for space operations at Nasa it's not rare to go undertake feasibility studies when
folks come in with ideas for things that would help us zerbotion continued we're working on
insane things all the time we must carry out that task hope you're with me we're always expected to
push the limits in the future humans returning to the moon on personal lunar Landers like the
SpaceX Starship will be able to build telescopes on its surface starting with the lunar crater
radio telescope such telescopes would extend human understanding of the heavens and Inspire awe in
amazement they would also become even greater Windows through which this knowledge can flow
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