The Hubble Space Telescope will come crashing to Earth sometime in the 2030s without a boost.The Hubble Space Telescope will come crashing to Earth sometime in the 2030s without a boost.Nov 1, 2026, 9:09 PM UTCImage: NASAGravity is a cruel mistress, slowly dragging the famed telescope ever closer to its ultimate demise with every day. Hubble is in no immediate danger of burning up in the Earth’s atmosphere, but its time will run out in the early to mid 2030s unless its orbit is boosted. So NASA is taking proposals from the private sector to see if anyone can save it.In a post on NASA’s site, Administrator Jared Isaacman said:“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 … If there are innovative and cost-effective ways to extend the life of an asset already on orbit, we owe it to the American taxpayer and the scientific community to explore them. Extending Hubble’s life would mean more discoveries, more science, and more opportunities to expand our understanding of the universe.”The agency will keep the Request for Information open through November 30th at 3 PM ET.Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.Terrence O’BrienThe Verge DailyA free daily digest of the news that matters most.Email (required)By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy. We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
NASA hopes the commercial space industry can help save Hubble
